Final Voyage
by Mark Renshaw
Summary: According to Starfleet records, the USS Voyager and her crew returned home on Stardate 54973.4. Unofficially, a ship bearing the name Voyager suddenly appeared in the Alpha Quadrant almost a year before this date. Starring characters from all ST Shows!
1. The Return of Voyager

_This story is set approximately one year after the events in the final episode of Deep Space Nine entitled, 'What You Leave Behind.'_

"The Sisko is not walking the path." Prophet Kira stated.

"The Sisko is merely requesting a small detour." Sisko replied.

Benjamin Sisko, ex-Captain of Deep Space Nine, ex-member of Starfleet (and considering how he felt at the moment you may as well add ex-member the human race) had been with the Wormhole aliens, otherwise known as the Prophets for a almost a year now. For all he had managed to learn about them it felt like he'd only been here a day. Most if the time though it seemed like he'd been here a lifetime and he desperately needed some shore leave.

"Besides, it's only for a couple of days for the reunion, even Odo's turning up."

Prophet Kira morphed into Prophet Odo. One of the many annoying traits of the Wormhole Aliens, one more reason Sisko needed a break.

"This is not the way, there may be repercussions."

Which meant there was something about the current situation the Prophets did not know about. Ben had learned some things about theses celestial beings and one of them was they didn't know, nor could they foresee everything. When something unexpected happened or when there was something they couldn't see clearly, it made them nervous. He made them nervous. In fact for such an advanced race they spent a lot of the time being nervous.

"The Sisko must remain until the time when he must not." said Prophet O'Brien who had just appeared out of no-where. This, thought Sisko, is not going to be easy.

On board the USS Doddard, Captain Montgomery Scott sat in a reclined position. At the side of his chair, and within easy arms reach, was a bottle of dark green liquid while in one hand Scottie held a large but temporarily empty Crystal decanter. Taking the bottle, Scottie removed the seal and poured himself a generous measure of 'Green.' After taking a drink and placing the bottle back into it's position, he continued with his log entries.

"Computer, continue recording personal log 33728."

"Recording" confirmed the computer. Not in the monotonous, stale voice that he had to put up with on the original Enterprise. No, some things had changed for the better and the Mark-III CVS (Computer Voice synthesiser) was one of them. It confirmed a fact which every engineer, every Captain, every Officer who ever commanded a ship knew, that a ship was a lady and had to be treated as such.

There was something about the voice which had been niggling at the back of his mind for a while now though, it was almost as if he could put a name to the voice.

"Computer, say something."

"Something," replied the Computer without any trace of sarcasm.

Yes, it was definitely familiar. Pausing the log again he sat up. His hand flew over some nearby computer controls as he called up the schematics for the program. A few seconds later he sat back in his chair with a smile on his face. No wonder the computer sounded so familiar, it was Nurse Chapel's! Not literally of course but the database records had shown that in the early stages of development, Starfleet had analysed thousands of voice patterns. Apparently the soothing tones of the good Nurse, or Doctor as she was later known, had met all of the requirements that the Starfleet analysts were looking for and the CSV was based on her voice pattern.

Scottie sat lost in memories for a few seconds before continuing.

"At current speed it will take two more days to reach Capella IV. Aye, when the Enterprise first visited this wee planet, Captain Kirk was trying to secure a mining treaty with the inhabitants, which was made more difficult by a bit of a local power struggle and more than yer average bit of Klingon intervention."

Scottie had decided to survey the planets that the original Enterprise had encountered on their five-year mission. He had sold the idea to Starfleet as a study; a historical study as to how these societies had changed since the Enterprise first encountered them nearly a hundred years ago and a study of the Prime Directive. Kirk had bent and sometimes blatantly broken the Prime Directive on numerous occasions and Starfleet was very interested to see the long-term effects, if any, his actions had caused.

This was partly the reason Scotty had asked for the mission, as he was genuinely interested in the study. His unique situation also made him perfect for the job. But Scotty had really taken this year long study to catch up. He was seventy years behind everybody else and he didn't like that at all. Scotty was used to being ahead of his time with his engineering skills, yet a first year cadet probably knew more then he did when he first re-materialised into the twenty fourth Century.

Now four months into the mission Scottie finally felt that he was getting somewhere. Not only did the Engineering technical schematics no longer look like they were written in Klingon but he had caught up with a lot of Starfleet history while travelling to and from the different solar systems. Already he was getting ideas for improvements in various systems and was itching to try some of them out. Soon Scottie the miracle worker would return and he would no longer feel like a relic who belonged in a Starfleet museum.

His personnel log finally updated, Scottie was about to set course for Capella IV when he was suddenly flung out of his chair in a most undignified manner. The lights went out briefly but were quickly replaced by the emergency backups as the automated Red Alert systems kicked in. As the inertial dampers strained to cope with the unexpected pressure, one of the consoles overloaded and exploded showering Scottie with sparks as he cursed at his predicament.

"Collision warning," announced the computer.

"No...really?" replied Scotty in a rather sarcastic manner.

The worst seemed to be over though and Scotty was finally able to get to his feet. A quick glance at the damage control panel showed that the shuttle had taken a beating but the damage was not severe enough to warrant his immediate attention. His fingers danced over the controls to activate the main view screen. What he saw made him gasp, as filling the entire view screen was the image of a ship's hull.

Scotty was intrigued. He had collided with another ship that was obvious. What wasn't obvious was why? The shuttle's sensors should have detected the approaching ship and if either ship had been travelling at warp speed then he wouldn't be alive to be confused about this mystery. However, maybe the other ship could have been cloaked! Checking the logs he confirmed that the ship appeared right before the moment of impact but it was instantaneous, which is unlike any known cloaking technology.

"Maybe this is a Borg ship? I wouldn't mind getting a wee look at the beastie's engines!" Scotty said to himself.

He activated the thrusters and started to back up, thinking that if it was an active Borg ship, then they would have locked on a Tractor Beam or destroyed him by now. As the Shuttle reversed more of the ship became visible. It quickly became apparent that this was not a Borg ship but a Starfleet vessel. As the shuttle manoeuvred around to the Saucer section Scotty was able to read the ships registration. It read NCC-74656, USS Voyager.

"Great Scott!" was all that Scotty could say before he started to look around for his bottle of 'Green', hoping it hadn't been smashed in the crash.

Aboard the USS Enterprise, Captain John Luc Picard sat in his ready room catching up on his paper work while listening to some classical music from the late 20th Century. Paper work, thought Picard as he smiled slightly. Even though the paperless office had finally become a reality over 300 years ago, the term was still used to describe everyday administration duties. Picard's thoughts were interrupted when Will Riker's image appeared on his work station.

"Sorry to interrupt Captain, but I have an important communication from Admiral Hoover."

"Computer, stop playback. Put him through Number one."

"Mozart?" Inquired Riker.

"Williams." Picard replied. Riker looked confused.

"I'll explain later."

"Yes Sir."

Riker's image was replaced by that of Admiral Tom Hoover. Tom was very young for an Admiral. In fact he was the youngest Admiral in Starfleet history but a lot of people in Starfleet, including Picard, thought that he was the best man for the job, despite his age.

"What can I do for you Admiral?"

"We have a priority one situation Captain. Approximately five hours ago the USS Voyager appeared in the Solarian system."

"Voyager? But aren't they lost somewhere in the Delta Quadrant?"

"They were," replied the Admiral, "A few hours ago they literally bumped into Captain Scott's shuttlecraft in the Alpha Quadrant. Captain Scott reports that Voyager is in a bad way. He thinks whatever they did to get themselves home may be the cause of this but that's just an initial report and subject to speculation."

"So you want the Enterprise to tow the ship home? Surely a Starfleet Tug vessel would be more appropriate in this situation. We are in the middle of an important... "

"This is a delicate situation John Luc. Not only does Voyager's database hold vast amounts of information on the Delta Quadrant, but Captain Scott reports that only twenty four of the crew are on board and they have no memory of how they managed to get back home or what has happened to the rest of the crew."

"Even so I fail to see why the flagship..."

"There's more Captain. The survivors are mainly the so called ex-Maquis members of the crew, apart from an alien we have not encountered before and know very little about, he's a Telaxian apparently, and one Human Female who used to be part of the Borg collective."

John Luc sat back in amazement. "No Star fleet crew?"

"None. Captain Scott says they are co-operating for now and seem content to wait for a Starship to arrive but we need to act fast. I authorise the use of maximum warp. Your orders are to secure Voyager and escort them to the nearest Federation base, which is Deep Space Nine. The debriefing of the remaining crew will be handled there by a special team I'm setting up. We are quite fortunate to have several key personnel visiting the station for some sort of reunion party, a party I'm afraid I'm about to break up. As for your team I want you to go over Voyager with a fine tooth comb, checking logs and looking for any clues as to what happened."

"You suspect foul play?"

"Damn right I do. Maquis terrorists, an unknown alien and an Ex-Borg! It doesn't smell right. . I want to know how they managed to get back to the Alpha Quadrant and I want to know what happened to the rest of the crew."

John Luc started to reply but Admiral Hoover interrupted him. "You have your orders Captain. I'm forwarding all the files we have on Voyager to you now. Hoover out."

The screen went blank. John Luc pressed his Comm badge. "Number one?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Set a course for the Solarian system, Maximum Warp. And have all Senior staff report to the briefing room in ten minutes."

"Aye-aye Sir."

Approximately ten minutes later, Captain Picard walked into the briefing room. Around the briefing table sat the Senior staff, Commander Riker, Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge, Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher, the ship's Counsellor Deanna Troi, Commander Data and Chief of Security, Vincent Mudd.

"Let's begin shall we?" Said Picard, "On Stardate 48351.6 the USS Voyager was chasing a Maquis vessel into the Badlands. Both ships disappeared and Voyager was officially announced lost on Stardate 48355.8. As you are all aware that announcement was revoked when Voyager contacted Starfleet in a rather unusual manner from the Delta Quadrant. Voyager had apparently not been destroyed but a being called the Caretaker had somehow transport the vessel approximately seventy thousand lights years away."

"From what I've read of The Caretaker he sounds like Q's great Grandfather" commented Riker with a wry smile on his face.

"Maybe so Number One, but the fact was that Voyager WAS lost and this Caretaker being died."

"You emphasised was lost. Is that no longer the case?" Questioned Beverly.

"No. According to an old friend of ours, Captain Scott, Voyager has somehow made her way home."

The crew all gasped in amazement. La Forge was the first one to raise a question.

"But Captain, according to the last contact with Voyager, she was a little under fifty five thousand light years away?"

"At this point we don't know the managed it. They could have found another Caretaker, maybe Q helped, although I doubt it, maybe they invented a new warp drive. What we do know is that no Star Fleet crew made it back to the Alpha Quadrant with Voyager. The crew currently comprises of twenty two people who originally belonged to the Maquis ship Voyager was chasing in the Badlands, one Delta Quadrant being and a human female who has spent most of her life as a Borg drone. They claim to have no memories of how they got home or what happened to the rest of the crew"

"So Voyager somehow gets back to the Alpha Quadrant and the only crew around are Terrorists, an alien and a Borg? Somehow I don't think so." said Vincent.

"I concur," answered Number one, "This memory loss thing is way too convenient as well."

"It appears that Starfleet agrees with you Number One. That's why they are sending us to investigate. We are on route to their position now. Once secured, we will escort Voyager to Deep Space Nine where debriefing will begin."

"An interesting location, considering that Deep Space Nine is where their journey began." commented Data.

Data was currently fascinated by coincidences. He was in the process of formulating a mathematical equation, which he called Seldon's law, to predict when and where a coincidence would occur. Picard had asked him to explain about it once. It had seemed a good idea at the time but about an hour later Picard had finally terminated the explanation complaining of a headache.

"Indeed," Picard continued, "Once we arrive at Deep Space Nine we get to have a look at Voyager and see how she has faired over the years while checking for answers to the many questions Voyager's return raises. Geordi, I want you and Mr Mudd to check out Engineering, Number One you and Commander Data take care of the main Computer while Doctor Crusher will attempt to get the EMH program back online. According to Captain Scott the Doctor's program has been corrupted. If you can somehow re-activate him he may be able to answer some of our questions. Counsellor, you will accompany me while I have a chat with acting Captain Chakotay."

"What about the rest of the crew?" asked Troi.

"Under no circumstances," replied the Captain strongly, "I repeat, under no circumstances are any of the Voyager crew allowed to leave their quarters until we reach Deep Space Nine. There they will be handed over to a special de-briefing team under the command of Ambassador Worf."

A few eyebrows were raised around the table, including Data's.

"Very Interesting."

"Quite," replied Picard who could already feel a future headache approaching. "Everybody review Voyagers files and inform your department heads. Make it so."

As the senior staff stood up, Troi stayed sat in her seat. She overheard Riker and Geordie chatting about Reg's last transmission as they left. Reg Barkley, ex-member of the Enterprise crew, friend and sometimes patient of Troi had managed to resume communication with Voyager several times after the initial surprising contact had been broken. As Voyager's adventures were so popular with Starfleet personnel, everyone looked forward to what they called, 'Reg's Transmissions,' for the latest news on Voyager and her crew. The last one, about a month ago, had been quite bleak. Janeway was worried about the crew's moral. It seemed that the long journey and hostile areas they were travelling through was finally taking its toll. Janeway expressed her hopes that they could locate a friendly planet soon so that the crew could indulge in some much needed R&R.

Picard had known Troi long enough to sense something was bothering her.

"What is it Counsellor?"

"Sir, even if I couldn't telepathically sense emotions I would have been concerned at the atmosphere during the briefing."

"Explain."

"It was, let's say, decidedly tense."

"The Voyager situation is unique and fellow Starfleet officers are involved. Does it surprise you that there was a tense atmosphere?"

"I can understand that Captain but after all these years working together I was surprised at how judgmental it seemed, as if everyone had already laid the blame for whatever has happened on Voyager."

"This is not a Cardassian court of law Counsellor." Picard said sternly,

"The Voyager crew are innocent until proven guilty and will be treated accordingly. "

"But we don't even know what happened, yet..."

"And we won't know what happened until we can get there and start investigating."

Picard took a deep breath, his tone softened.

"Deanna, I can understand your concerns and they are duly noted. The investigation will be carried out in a professional, unbiased manner and I'm sure we will soon have an answer to this mystery."

With that Picard returned to his notes, the meeting apparently over. As Troi left the briefing room her concern remained despite the Captain's words. Would the Officers involved remain totally impartial and professional during this investigation or would the ghosts of the past influence their actions? The involvement of Starfleet officers in Maquis terrorist activities just prior to the war with the Dominion had shook Starfleet to its very core, much more then they would care to admit. In particular Troi was concerned about Picard. When he talked to Chakotay would he see a man who Captain Janeway trusted so much she made him her second in command? Or would he be too reminded of a young officer who once betrayed his trust and betrayed the Federation to the Maquis? Would he see Chakotay or would he see Ensign Ro Laren?


	2. Deep Space Nine Reunion

The dart landed in the centre of the dartboard with a resounding thud, right next to two similarly placed darts. Lights flashed excitedly, while shrilling chime sounds were emitted from the dartboard, signifying yet another Bulls-eye for Julian Bashir, although he was stood at the other side of Quark's bar.

"You've been practising," muttered Miles O'Brien as he puts down his half empty pint of ale. Bashir smiled wryly as Ezri Dax gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as a reward.

The reunion party, for what it was worth, was underway. Odo was due to arrive at any minute but no-one was sure if Sisko would turn up, or even if he knew about the reunion at all. Kira had sent numerous transmissions through the wormhole, but had not received any response or sign to say that the Emissary was in the mood to party with old friends.

The mood had changed somewhat from when they first arrived. Admiral Hoover had interrupted their party to inform them of the current situation regarding Voyager and assigned most of them debriefing duties.

Kira collected her drink from a flustered Quark (who was upset that this party would now only last hours instead of the planned days) and joined the rest of her comrades.

"What I do not understand is if Voyager is so damn important, why the Enterprise doesn't escort it to Starfleet headquarters?" asked Kira.

"Even at maximum warp it would take them weeks to get there," pointed out Worf who was drinking Prune juice as normal. Prune juice had become a big hit on Chronos ever since Worf's appointment as Starfleet Ambassador to the Klingon home world. Imports of this non-alcoholic beverage were now matching those of Blood Wine in some sectors.

"It appears Colonel, that they do not call it 'Deep Space' for nothing, said Garak as he accepted a glass of K'narr from one of Quark's underpaid and overworked assistants.

Kira gave Garak one of her 'if looks could kill' stares, but Garak merely raised his glass to salute the Colonel.

"Well apart from that," said O'Brien who was preparing to throw his first dart, "Starfleet Command has the habit of delegating as much as possible across the quadrant these days." He threw the dart, which landed in the top-middle section of the board.

"Bad luck, old boy," commented Bashir

"Why's that?" Kira asked the Chief.

O'Brien stopped lining up his second shot and turned to face Kira.

"Because over the past seven years or so the Federation has faced crisis after crisis. So much so that it's now bloody paranoid about the next attack by the Borg or if another war will kick off any minute."

"But nothing apart from a few minor skirmishes has happened for almost a year now." Kira argued.

"Exactly," replied O'Brien. "So they are using this quiet time to build ships. And we are not talking about science vessels or ships designed for exploration. We are talking about war ships like the Prometheus, Defiant, and Excelsior class."

"A sensible approach," commented Worf

O'Brien turned back towards the dartboard before continuing. "It's not sensible if it's taking up all your time and resources." He threw the second dart, which landed right next to the first one. Bashir scrunched up his face in mock pain at the apparent bad form of his friend.

"Or if you do not want to upset the Romulans," said Odo as he strolled into the bar.

The game was forgotten about, as was everyone's drink, while Odo was greeted by shouts of 'Constable' from all - even though this was no longer his title. Kira simply walked over and gave him a big hug, while Quark was desperately trying to hide several mysterious looking objects behind the bar.

"I've missed you!" exclaimed Kira as she gave Odo a big, sloppy kiss.

"And I've missed you," said Odo with a sheepish grin. He turned visibly red in the face; something the Founders only did when trying to imitate humans. But Odo had never been a normal Founder and his embarrassment and joy were real.

After the introductions had finished, Kira questioned Odo about his entrance. "What did you mean about the Romulans?"

"I believe the Romulans have shown...their, let's say, displeasure, at what they call, 'Starfleet's build up of military forces'."

"How did you know about that?" questioned Worf, who was visibly concerned supposed Starfleet secrets were being discussed.

"You do not think being stuck in the Delta Quadrant means I do not keep an eye on things here do you?" Odo still had not let go of Kira and she did not seem to be complaining.

"Ah yes! Thank you for reminding me," said Garak standing up. "The Cardassian Government, or what is left of it, would like to also officially protest at the excessive construction of Starfleet warships, and request that an intergalactic inquiry be set up immediately, or whenever is convenient, by an independent body to investigate Starfleet's actions."

Garak sat down with an exaggerated sigh.

"You know this political stuff really is quite tiresome."

Despite how crazy it may have seemed, Garak was now a Governor on Cardassia. After the Dominion threat was over, Cardassia not only had to lick its substantial wounds, but also answer to Starfleet, the Klingons and everyone else in the Alpha Quadrant for their actions. It was only due to the aid their fleet provided in the final battle ( as well as the fact Cardassia already had suffered substantially for their alignment with the Dominion) they were let off so lightly. Still, the Cardassian government was ordered to disband and a new one put in place. Several key positions were directly influenced by Starfleet, who positioned people they knew were sympathetic to the Federation. One of them, despite his somewhat shady past, was Garak. The idea seemed just as crazy to Garak as it did to most people who knew him, but, as he always pointed out, he hardly had any choice in the matter.

There was a sudden pause as if everything that had happened within the last few minutes was being absorbed by all. Bashir finally broke the silence.

"Are you ever going to take your last shot O'Brien?"

"All right, all right. Keep your hair on."

O'Brien aimed with his last dart then let fly. The third dart landed close to the others.

"Winner, Miles O'Brien," said the dartboard's CVS.

"Hey! It's never done that before!" noted Bashir as he made his way towards the dartboard.

"That's because no-one's ever won the game before," pointed out O'Brien who was looking very pleased with himself. The rest of the crew was straining to hold back smiles as they watched on with amused interest.

Bashir took the board off the wall and examined it closely. "You must have cheated!"

"No, it's called, playing by the rules," said O'Brien. He picked up his drink and walked over to Bashir to explain. "A cadet in one of my classes at the Academy is a real darts fanatic. We have been playing most nights recently."

Bashir did not look at all convinced. "But I hit the centre every time; you were all over the place!"

O'Brien was really enjoying himself now. "You may be shocked to hear this Julian, but the aim of the game is not to just hit the centre."

Bashir took out his Tricorder and started to scan the dartboard. Kira and Dezri could not contain themselves any longer and burst into laughter, laughter which stopped as quickly as it had started as Ben Sisko appeared in the centre of the room, far faster than any Starfleet transporter could have achieved.

"Have I missed anything?" said Sisko, wearing his trademark grin.

Jake Sisko, who until now had been sat quietly in a corner, suddenly leapt up. "Dad!"

He ran over to his father, throwing his arms around the broader man, nearly knocking him over in the process. Soon everyone gathered round, asking questions and offering greetings, which, as with Odo before him, lasted for several frantic minutes. Quark used the opportunity to top-up everyone's drink. Finally Sisko managed to greet Kira. "Commander, it's good to see you've kept the place in one piece."

"It's still Colonel or 'Acting CO'I'm afraid."

"Starfleet still hasn't given you the post on a permanent basis?"

Sisko looked puzzled, which was understandable, as it had been almost a year.

"Nope. The official reason is that I'm CO until you return."

"But I resigned!"

"They didn't accept it. You're on a temporary leave of absence apparently."

There's nothing like good old-fashioned red tape mixed in with a healthy dash of politics, thought Sisko.

"And what do we call you now?" asked Garak. "Captain, Emissary or will The Sisko suffice?"

"You can call me anything you like Mr. Garak, or I should say Gul Garak, as long as you don't call me The Sisko."

"Well, let's just say, I'll call you Benjamin as long as you don't call me Gul Garak."

There were so many positions that needed filling on Cardassia that Garak had been made Governor, and given the rank of commander, as well as several other positions, titles and responsibilities Garak despised. It was either that or face substantial time in a Federation brig for multiple dubious charges, several of which Garak clearly remembered not being responsible for.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to call him Captain," Kira interrupted her tone serious and commanding. "As are we all. I may be acting CO but under the current crisis I'm re-instating your Starfleet Security clearances. I'll retain overall command of the station while you will assist Ambassador Worf in the debriefing of the Voyager crew as..." Kira paused for a second to think. "Strategic Advisor and Starfleet liaison to the Prophets."

Sisko accepted with a nod and a smile. Worf simply nodded his acceptance. Kira then turned to Odo. "Odo, I'm re-instating you as well. You will 'assist' the Chief of Security as, err, Security Advisor and Starfleet liaison to the Founders,"

"It will be my pleasure Colonel," Said Odo.

"Can I be re-instated as the station's tailor, with no link whatsoever to the Cardassian Government?" pleaded Garak.

"Whatever," said Kira dismissively.

"So when does this Crisis start?" asked Sisko eagerly.

"The Enterprise is due to arrive in approximately 26 hours," answered Worf

"In that case, first we have the reunion party, and then the crisis," Sisko announced as he clapped his hands together and smiled. Jake thought he had never seen his Father look so happy.

It was as if they last twelve months apart simply had not happened as the past and present crew of Deep Space Nine chatted, joked and enjoyed each other's company. Quark even tried to bribe O'Brien with promises of free time in the Holosuite for him and Bashir, in exchange for information regarding the Enterprise crew's likes, dislikes and supposed vices.

Unfortunately, the smiles and general good cheer were not to last very long.


	3. Seldon's Law

CHAPTER 3

Data and La Forge were discussing Data's coincidence theory in Ten-Forward when the call came from the Captain for all senior staff to report to the bridge, signifying the Enterprise was about to rendezvous with Voyager.

Unlike Picard, La Forge had a genuine interest in Data's theory, however even he had to admit the math behind it were far beyond his knowledge. As they left Ten-Forward together, La Forge jokingly asked Data if he had a theory on why they where always at the furthest point away from the nearest Turbo-Lift whenever they were summoned to the bridge. Data interpreted this as a serious question and constructed a whole sub-routine to analyze the phenomena. He estimated it would be two-point-three hours before he could formulate a basic theory.

"So take the current situation," said La Forge as they walked through the corridors of Deck Seventeen. "It does seem a coincidence we find Captain Scott is the one who discovers Voyager, who just-so-happens to be in a shuttlecraft we gave him, and when the call comes in from Starfleet we 'just-so-happen' to be the nearest Federation Starship to his position."

"Plus," Data added. "The Federation base we are ordered to escort Voyager to 'just-so-happens' to be Deep Space Nine, where Voyager began her mission into the Badlands."

"Right!" said La Forge, as he mentally made the connection. "So how does Seldon's Law fit into all this?" La Forge still didn't know why Data had not taken the normal credit for creating a theory by naming it 'Data's Law' but he thought he would save that conversation for another time.

Data decided to answer the question by formulating a question of his own. "What would you say are the odds using known mathematical theories of all these events occurring?"

La Forge thought for a moment but could not even begin to calculate a rough guess. "Immense, almost impossible I'd say."

"Approximately…." Data paused, reflecting the fact that people seemed to dislike it when he quoted large numbers. "Let us just say you would have more chance of being run over by a Twenty-First Century Automobile."

La Forge did not know if Data had just made an attempt at a joke or if it was another one of his odd statements.

"But under Seldon's Law," Data continued, "this figure could be reduced to about fifty-to-one, although I admit at this point this is more of a rough guess than a real estimate."

"How come?" La Forge was surprised. It was rare indeed to witness Data making 'a rough guess.'

"According to my theories, Seldon's Law dictates each event is triggered by past, present and future events, as well as by itself. Therefore Voyager's sudden return may have been triggered when Captain Scott first approached the Dyson Sphere over seventy years ago, as well as a near infinite number of other related and seemingly unrelated events."

La Forge whistled in amazement. "That would mean, well the figures involved would be astronomical"

"Exactly," said Data as they entered to turbo lift. He instructed the computer to take them to the Bridge. "Unfortunately, gathering the relevant Data and calculating the figures are far beyond the limits of my Positronic Brain."

La Forge doubted any computer could handle so much sporadic, seemingly unrelated data

"However I have noted humans and certain other species do have the ability to detect such events. They refer to them as coincidences, or some form of DejaVu."

"What if it is all just a coincidence?"

Data noted La Forge's lips were at the exact curved parameters he used when executing a joke.

"Good one, Geordie!" Data patted La Forge on the shoulder in, what he thought, was the appropriate manner. "However using this as a basis I have constructed the preliminary schematics for a new computer Matrix; one that I believe could put my theories into practice."

Data gave La Forge the correct amount of time to absorb this information, approximately two-point-three seconds, before asking his next question.

"I was wondering if you would like to assist me in this project, during our free time of course?"

La Forge thought for a moment, "Data, something like this could take years, even a whole lifetime!"

"Even if we, 'ignited the midnight petroleum'?"

La Forge thought this time it definitely was a joke.

He smiled while patting Data on the back, "Good one, Data!"

"The old ones are the best!" Data added.

As they exited the Turbo-Lift, La Forge agreed to have a look at Data's designs later.

The edges of Data's mouth curved up slightly, into a tight Data-like smile, as he made his way to the helm controls satisfied that not only would his friend be assisting him with his project but also that he had successfully executed a joke.

Meanwhile La Forge made his way to the Engineering console where he transferred primary controls from Engineering to the Bridge. With a few quick keystrokes he downloaded the sensor logs from the helm and began to examine the preliminary scans taken by the Enterprise as they approached Voyager's position.

While La Forge became lost in his analysis, Captain Picard was saying his farewells to Captain Scott.

"Are you certain I can't persuade you to stay Captain? I'm sure we could use your skills in assessing what happened to Voyager."

Scotty smiled. The image on the main view-screen showed that he was back on-board the Goddard.

"Nay laddie. I have ma own mission ta get back to. Plus, between you and me Captain, there's something not quite right aboot that ship."

"What do you mean?" Picard said curiously.

"Well, you know how ya can tell certain things about yer ship, without having to even look at any monitors, just from the wee sounds she makes or the feel of the ship under yer boots?"

Picard smiled and nodded in agreement. He could tell what warp speed they were travelling at, no matter where he happened to be on the ship and he knew when a system needed re-calibrating just from certain noises and vibrations that emanated from the Enterprise.

It seemed to be a skill only Captains and Engineers developed from years of experience in space. A skill that infuriated the Starship designers who insisted it was impossible for a human to diagnose such information without utilizing a technical readout or checking a log. But Picard knew better.

"Well, I seem ta have developed certain special empathy for ships over the years," continued Scotty. "And although I canna pinpoint why, as soon as I set foot on Voyager, I just knew there was something, something deeply wrong aboot that ship."

Picard knew Scotty would not state something if he didn't really believe it. "I appreciate your warning Captain. We will take all necessary precautions. Good luck with your mission."

"Aye, you too Captain, you too. Scotty out!" Scotty's image disappeared from the view-screen.

Several minutes later Picard and Troi materialized on Voyager's Bridge. Picard activated his communicator.

"Picard to Enterprise."

"Enterprise here," responded Riker.

"Everyone on-board?" asked Picard.

"All teams have reported in."

"Very good, you may proceed."

"Aye-Aye Captain."

The Enterprise engaged engines at one-quarter impulse power, until positioned approximately one hundred thousand kilometers in front of Voyager. Blue beams of energy streaked out of the Enterprise, engulfing Voyager's saucer section and main deflector as the tractor beam locked on. As the Enterprise's warp engines powered up, an extended warp bubble formed around the two ships. Second later their warp nacelles began to stretch due to the extreme forces being applied, then suddenly the two ships shot off at warp speed towards the distant stars and Deep Space Nine.

On Voyager's bridge, Picard gave one quick look at the Star field on the view screen then made his way into Janeway's ready-room, closely followed by Troi. Waiting inside was Chakotay who was stood close to the Captain's desk. He was there at Picard's request rather then confined to quarters like the rest of the remaining crew. Troi could sense several distinct emotions eminating from Chakotay; anger, frustration and fear - all quite understandable under the current circumstances.

"Captain…" Chakotay began to say, but Picard held up his hand.

"One moment, Mr. Chakotay," Picard activated his portable note pad. "Captain's personal log; continued. Let it be noted command of the USS Voyager has been transferred to me. The codes and command protocols will be transferred as soon as the main computer is back online."

Picard would have felt more comfortable if Voyager was completely under his control but as it was only backup and automated systems were currently functioning.

Picard seated himself in Janeway's chair. Troi could sense Chakotay did not approve. She noted he suddenly felt very possessive but could not tell if this meant he believed Janeway should be the only one sitting there or if he thought the chair, and the position of Captain, belonged to him.

"Please, have a seat Mr Chakotay.' said Picard as he motioned for Chakotay to sit opposite him.

"I prefer to stand." Chakotay could feel the old anger towards Starfleet rising again.

"As you wish, now, would you…."

"Captain! "interrupted Chakotay. "I must protest at the treatment of my crew!"

Picard raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Chakotay, under the present circumstances you understand we must take appropriate precautions."

"To some extent, yes," answered Chakotay. "But being escorted, in some cases quite roughly I might add, and confined to quarters is not my idea of understandable precautions!"

Picard paused for a moment. Troi could sense the controlled anger hidden within Picard. The same type of anger he always felt whenever it was suggested a member of his crew had acted in a manner not appropriate of a Starfleet officer.

"Your crew are temporarily confined to quarters simply so we can perform an initial investigation before we reach Deep Space Nine. However I will personally look into your allegations and take any appropriate action, if required." Picard put on a very neutral face, but Troi knew he was testing Chakotay, waiting for his response.

Chakotay did not believe any of Picard's words, but was willing to let it go, for now.

"Thank you Captain." He looked at Troi, as if calculating an enemy, then casually back at Picard "So, how can I be of assistance?"

Picard sat back in the chair and clasped his hands together, "I'd like to hear in your own words what happened?"

"Everything I know is in my report. I was under the impression Captain Scott had sent you a copy."

"I did receive it, but I'd like to hear it from you all the same. You may have missed out some gut feelings, or hunches you may have. It may seem inconsequential to you now, but it may prove vital."

"Plus, I suppose it's nice to have a Betazoid present," Chakotay didn't try to mask his sarcasm, giving Troi a hard stare; his distrust apparent.

"Counselor Troi," Picard emphasized the word 'Counselor,' forcing Chakotay's attention back to Picard, "is here in her professional capacity, to judge the well being of the persons onboard this ship. You and your crew have been through a lot, even before current events. The Counselor is to assess and assist were necessary."

Picard sat forward releasing his hands. He again gestured to the seat opposite. "Please, we are all on the same side. You must understand our eagerness to unravel this mystery and we have a lot of work ahead of us. As they say, 'Time is the fire, in which we burn'."

All well and good, thought Chakotay as he finally accepted Picard's offer to be seated. He suspected Troi was also here to sense if any of them were lying. Well, he was determined not going to give them any satisfaction. If they thought they could break him using Starfleet interrogation techniques they were in for a big surprise. He had survived far worse at the hands of the Cardassians and several nasty species from the Delta Quadrant.

As Chakotay relayed the events leading up to the present, his anger began to dissipate but his fear and frustration continued to grow. What had happened to Janeway, Tuvok and the rest of the Starfleet crew? How was it one moment he was having diner with the Captain, the next he was in the Alpha Quadrant being woken up by Captain Scott?

The question he most feared was, 'Did I have anything to do with it'? It was evident Picard and the others thought so too, but despite their suspicions he was somehow faking the memory loss, Chakotay really didn't remember a thing. He had no idea how Voyager had made it back to the Alpha Quadrant; no clue as to what had happened to the Janeway and the rest of the original Starfleet crew

'Time is the fire, in which we burn' Picard had quoted. How true, thought Chakotay, but he had this growing sense, this gut feeling that the flames were burning low and time was running out!


	4. Riots and Headaches

Chapter 4

From the comforting depths of unconsciousness there came a voice.

"It is beginning."

The voice was so familiar, yet so utterly alien at the same time.

"You are to witness the fall of hope, the destruction of your dreams."

For a brief moment a memory threatened to surface. She could sense it was a painful one, something dangerous. She was not ready; not yet. She endeavoured to discharge it before the memory could form into coherency.

"Struggle, as understanding should never be easy." How did the voice know she was struggling?

The battle continued but with it came the first stirrings of consciousness.

"Nothing is going to be easy for you ever again." The voice sounded pleased.

Picard was still sat at Janeway's desk. After several hours of painstakingly extracting what he could from Janeway's personal logs the headache which had been threatening to form for sometime had now arrived in style. It was like a numbing throb in the centre of his forehead. Picard made a mental note to report to Dr. Crusher if it continued. However for now he needed to record his initial findings, check the progress of each team and summarise all the information for Ambassador Worf.

"Captain's log, Stardate 55914.5. We have arrived at Deep Space Nine and the transfer of the remaining Voyager crew will begin shortly….."

Odo had finally managed to excuse himself and was making his way to the transporter room to oversee the arrival of the Voyager crew-members. It had not been an easy task. His former comrades wanted to know how his people were adjusting to a more benevolent way of life; how the Jem'Hadar where adapting to natural procreation rather than genetic engineering.

Several similar probing questions made it clear to Odo Starfleet still did not fully trust the Dominion. They were unsure if the Founders were still a threat and looked to Odo to see if there where any hint the shape-shifters were returning to their old ways. Only Bashir seemed to have a different motive. He wanted to know how his program for eradicating the Jem'Hadar's need for Ketracel White was progressing. Odo had assured the Doctor the next generation of Jem'Hadar should be totally free of the addiction. This had pleased Bashir immensely who promised to give Odo a credit in his next paper on the subject.

As Odo strolled through the corridors, his only regret was that he had not yet had the opportunity to spend some time alone with Kira. He hoped after the current mission was over they could spend some quality time together before he had to return to his people.

Odo's thoughts were interrupted as he approached his destination There were far too many people hanging around in the corridor directly connecting the Transporter room and Habitat C, where the majority of the Voyager crew where to be situated during the de-briefing. He quickly noted there were two distinct but separate groups of people. One mainly consisted of Starfleet personnel, while the other mainly Bajoran. Odo quickly approached Solack, Deep Space Nine's current head of security

Solack was the Vulcan who had famously left Starfleet in protest over, what he saw, as their illogical peace treaty with the Cardassians. This treaty resulted in millions of people losing their homes, as the Federation shamelessly ceded control of several planets to the Cardassians. The backlash from this ultimately led to the formation of the Marquis.

Solack had written to several high ranking Starfleet officials, suggesting they had betrayed its founding principles. These principles had been established with considerable assistance from the Vulcans. In an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Solack resigned from Starfleet but he did not leave quietly. While never condoning the actions of the Marquis, he continued to voice his protests. Eventually the Federation paid dearly for this treaty, both with their problems with the Marquis and with the subsequent betrayal of the Cardassians.

When Kira was asked to look for a replacement for Odo she immediately sought out Solack and offered him the position, which he readily accepted. Starfleet did not protest too much over Kira's choice. All arguments had been quashed when Kira politely reminded them the last time Starfleet had selected someone for the role, they inadvertently put in place one of the leaders of the Marquis!

"What are all these people doing here?" questioned Odo.

"I can think of three distinct possibilities." answered Solack. "They are here purely by coincidence, they are here because they are curious or they are here to interfere in the transfer."

"I think the third option is the more likely, don't you?"

"Given the circumstances and available data, I would have to concur."

"Then why haven't you done anything about it?" Odo said with a growl.

Solack raised an eyebrow, "I am unable to act, as no crime has been committed."

Great, thought Odo. He's been here for nearly a year and he still has not learned anything about the way the station operates. "Have you never heard of crime prevention?"

Solack opened his mouth to reply, but Odo interrupted, "Get more security down here, I want this corridor cleared, now!"

It surprised Odo how easily he slipped back into his old role. It also surprised him to see Solack, after a moments hesitation carry out the order. Odo was supposed to be here to advise and assist only but old habits die hard.

Odo was about to contact Kira to advise they delay the transfer until the situation could be brought under control when the transporter room door suddenly opened with its trademark whoosh. Out stepped Chakotay and Torres accompanied by two security guards.

"It's too late!" warned Odo, as he prepared himself for action.

He did not have to wait long. A member of the Starfleet posse calmly walked up to Chakotay causing the security guards to stiffen slightly. Both placed a hand on their Phasers in a warning gesture.

"Traitor!" the man shouted at Chakotay before spitting in his face.

This was the spark that ignited the powder keg.

One of the security guards moved to restrain the offender but was beaten to him by a screaming Torres who launched herself on top of the startled man, bearing him to the ground. Security attempted to intervene but where intercepted by the majority of the Bajoran group, who themselves where then attacked by the majority of the Starfleet group. Moments later Solack's extra security men arrived.

Without hesitation Solack ordered them to restore order.

"Typical," thought Odo who was stood on the perimeter of the chaos. Only on Deep Space Nine could a simple security matter turn into a full-scale riot. He grabbed a Bajoran by the wrist who was trying to flank a security officer. Instead of pulling on the wrist, as the Bajoran expected, Odo pushed forward hard. Still gripping his wrist, Odo stepped forward with the now off-balance attacker striking the startled man with blurring speed in the neck. Odo stepped away as the Bajoran dropped to the floor gasping for breath. Satisfied this adversary was out of the fight, he tapped his communicator.

"Odo to Colonel Kira."

"Kira here, what's up Constable?"

"Colonel, I would recommend you contact the Enterprise and advise them to delay any further transports. We have ourselves, a little situation."

"What kind of a situation?" Kira asked.

"Excuse me for a moment Colonel."

Odo noticed a rather large Starfleet Officer had detached himself from the main fighting area and was making his way towards Odo's position. Odo stood his ground, folded his arms and gave the man the 'Odo stare'. He recognised the look of anger in the young man's face. It a look he had come to loath. Ever since people discovered he was the same race as the Founders, some people could not see Odo for who he really was; all they could see was the enemy.

Maybe this man had family or friends who were killed in the war, or maybe he just didn't like Shape-Shifters? Whatever the reason, the man saw Odo as a focal point of his anger. He screamed in rage and charged at full speed. Odo felt a momentary twinge of pity as he easily side-stepped the attacker at the last second, causing the man to run head-first into the bulkhead and drop 'out cold' to the ground.

"Sorry about that Colonel. It appears 'somehow' news of this operation has become public." Odo was convinced this 'somehow' had a name, a pair of rather large ears and a loose tongue when latinum was involved.

"I take it the news has not gone down well?" Kira asked sarcastically.

"Let's just say, we have Starfleet on one side, Bajoran's on the other and some ex-terrorists suspected of foul play in the middle."

"Great, just great!" commented Kira angrily.

"Colonel; under the circumstances I would recommend the remainder of the Voyager crew are beamed directly to their quarters. And now, if you will excuse me, I have a few matters to attend to."

"Acknowledged. You take care of yourself Odo."

"Will do. Odo out."

Odo noticed Solack was performing the Vulcan nerve pinch on one Bajoran while another was on Solack's back trying, without much success, to throttle the Vulcan. Although Odo did not think Solack would have any trouble dispatching two Bajorians with his superior Vulcan strength, Odo decided to step-in just to help speed up the inevitable outcome.

Meanwhile Kira had informed the Enterprise of the current situation. She stormed out of the Ready Room into Ops noting most of her officers suddenly finding something extremely interesting to do which required their total attention.

Kira was furious. Damn Starfleet, she thought. They promised this kind of thing would not happen. They were adamant the day-to-day operation of the station would not be interrupted; although if she was being totally honest with herself, she should have expected it by now. Starfleet does what it wants, when it wants and how it wants; no matter whose business it disturbed.

"How many transports are due in today?" Kira asked to no-one in particular.

"Err three. No four!" answered Ensign Bejko nervously.

"Well, cancel them," Kira ordered, "and 'persuade' any that are currently docked to finish their business and leave quickly."

Kira knew from painful experience Deep Space Nine was a tinderbox which constantly waiting for a match to blow things all out of proportions. A situation like this could quickly become deadly serious if measures were not taken.

"Give me a schematic of habitat C." Kira said as she made her way to the Ops main view screen.

Moments later the schematic appeared. Kira studied the readouts of the station for a few moments then demanded everyone's attention.

"Here, here and here," Kira pointed to three sections on the schematic readout. "These are where the Voyager crew are to be situated. I want them cleared immediately. Post security guards at each entry point. No unauthorised personnel will be allowed in or out, is that clear?"

"Yes Sir." said Bejko. He quickly left the room to personally see Kira's orders where carried out; glad to have an excuse to be away from the Colonel when she was in a bad mood.

Meanwhile over on the other side of Ops, Ensign Janthus who was a recent arrival to the station nudged Lieutenant Rom.

"That's a bit excessive isn't it?" whispered Janthus. "What next, Marshall Law?"

Rom paled visibly and shook his head, trying too late to warn Janthus as Kira stormed over to their station. She leaned in close to Janthus, merely an inch away from his face.

"No, not Marshall Law, Kira's Law. You got that, 'Ensign'?"

"Yes Mam!" stammered Janthus, who discovered his mouth was now too dry to swallow.

"Good." Kira said with a sarcastic smile.

Kira took one last hard stare around the room to see if anyone else was going to be a problem, then made her way back to the Ready Room, much to the relief of Janthus.

"Problems?" asked Sisko, who was sat at his desk still grinning.

"Nothing I can't handle." answered Kira. "What are you looking so happy about?"

"I have my ball!" answered Sisko. He demonstrated this fact by tossing his baseball into the air and catching it with ease.

"That's great. I'm really pleased for you." Kira said dryly. She was getting a little worried about Sisko. He seemed to be having trouble taking anything seriously at the moment.

Back on the Enterprise, Picard conveyed Kira's instructions to Riker before resuming his log.

"Captain Janway's logs reflect a deep seated trust in the Marquis crew. It is evident she thought of them part of the crew, to such an extent she appointed several of them into key positions."

Picard paused as he attempted to weigh up the situation. On one-hand the Marquis crew would be a tactical advantage if they were planning a coup. On the other he had to consider the points Counsellor Troi had raised. His own experience with the Marquis may be influencing his thought processes. Pondering Troi's concerns prompted him to mention his discussions with Chakotay in the log.

"Mr. Chakotay seems to be everything I expected after reviewing Janeway's log, smart, dedicated; if maybe a little hot-headed." Picard smiled as he reminded himself a little hot-headedness was not necessarily a bad thing. There was a time when this very term was used by others to describe Picard.

"It is also evident, "Picard continued," that Mr. Chakotay is extremely protective of his crew. During our brief discussion, Counsellor Troi could not detect any duality or attempts to mislead us in any way. In her opinion Chakotay is genuinely concerned over the missing Starfleet personnel. She also states he is telling the truth, or what he believes to be the truth regarding the mysterious memory loss."

Picard rubbed his forehead in an attempt to relieve some of the pain. He knew there was something else he was supposed to do but he could not focus his aching mind enough to remember what it was.

Realising the headache was developing into a migraine, he decided he would head off to sickbay now. Before he reached the turbo-lift however La-Forge contacted him via his communicator.

"Picard here, what is it Mr La Forge?" Picard hoped this was something he could deal with on route to Sickbay.

"Mr Mudd and I are in main engineering, and the wrap drive is, well…I think you should come down here and have a look for yourself. It's a little hard to describe."

Picard sighed. "Very well, I am on my way."

Picard noticed that Data was busy tapping away at several control panels at his usual high-speed while the only visible sign of Riker were his legs. They where sticking out of a computer access panel as Riker delved into the inner workings of various systems in his attempts to get the main computer back online.

"You have the bridge Number One." Picard said, more out of habit than anything else.

"Aye, Aye Sir!" came the muffled reply as the Turbo Lift doors hissed shut.

"Engineering." As the lift sped off Picard suddenly realised he was supposed to be going to engineering next anyway so he could finish the initial report for Worf. It was a little unsettling to discover he had been distracted so much by the pain.

.

"Maybe I've caught a Delta Quadrant disease?" he said out loud.

Don't be silly, thought Picard. It was just a headache after all.

"And maybe Mr Picard, the real reason is you're getting old and losing your marbles!"

Yes, thought Picard, as he smiled to himself. And talking to yourself in an empty Turbo-Lift is not exactly a good example to convince anyone otherwise.

In Sickbay, Beverly Crusher was calibrating some equipment she had beamed over from the Enterprise to help restore Voyager's EMH when Troi entered.

"Hello Counsellor, are you OK?" Crusher put down the diagnostic tool she had been using to setup the Database recovery module and picked up her medical Tricorder. She noted with some concern that Troi was quite pale.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Doctor," Troi said apologetically, "It's just, I have a terrible headache…."


	5. The Mystery Deepens

_Finally after a bitter struggle a memory surfaces. It is a memory of a dark object, drifting in space like a black coffin swimming amongst the stars. As if viewing the object through a view-screen, the image switches to a higher magnification which reveals the dark object is the casing of a photon-torpedo._

_There is something wrong though, this memory is not real. It does not quite belong here. Somehow she senses the memory is not hers._

_"You are witnessing what was a new beginning, a re-birth." The voice had returned after what seemed a lifetime._

_"Now witness the present. Witness what will be the end of a remarkable but futile journey."_

_Unable to resist any longer, Janeway's eyes fluttered open._

In cargo bay three, O'Brien and Bashir awaited the last member of the Voyager crew to be teleported over. They had completed converting the cargo bay into a temporary Borg regeneration chamber. O'Brien had constructed the device while frequently making comments about the 'Bloody Borg' and using other such colourful metaphors to describe exactly what he felt about this race.

Once finished, Bashir scanned the chamber confirming it was fit for purpose based on his limited knowledge of Seven of Nine's unique physiology.

Moments later, Seven beamed directly into the cargo bay accompanied by two security officers.

As the two humans introduced themselves and the one designated O'Brien nervously explained how he put the regeneration chamber together, Seven found it hard to concentrate on what he was saying. She was confused. She felt empty and alone. It was a similar feeling to one she had experienced when she was first disconnected from the Borg collective. It also reminded her of the time she had run Voyager alone for several weeks while the entire crew was in stasis as they passed through a dangerous nebula.

To Seven, the Voyager crew had become a symbolic collective to the ex-drone. In certain respects (although she would never openly admit as such) she viewed Janeway as a symbolic Queen.

By visualising the Captain and her crew in such a fashion, Seven had used familiar concepts to help her adapt to being an individual. Now suddenly this had all been taken away and she was at a loss as to why. As with Chakotay, she could not recall anything which would explain the missing crew or Voyager's miraculous appearance in the Alpha Quadrant.

Seven had attempted to adapt to the problem by increasing the production of Nanoprobes and using her cortical implants to stimulate her brain's memory centres. Her attempt had proven futile.

Seven realised O'Brien had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. His body language and facial expression indicated he was awaiting a response. She quickly recalled a summary of his speech, concluding he was awaiting some comment on the regeneration chamber.

"It is adequate."

"Don't you want to, err, try it out or something?" asked O'Brien.

"I do not require a regeneration cycle for another six hours," Seven replied.

O'Brien seemed a little disappointed. "Well, let me know if it needs adjusting or anything."

Seven noticed the one called Bashir was staring at her. Not in the way O'Brien or any of the security guards had. They viewed her with a mixture of curiosity and fear. His scrutiny was something altogether different. His pupil dilation indicated sexual attraction but she was still inexperienced in such matters, plus she was trying to cope with the current situation so was unsure.

"What is your function?" Seven asked Bashir.

"He's the station's doctor." replied O'Brien, noting that Bashir was having trouble answering for himself.

"Yes!" said Bashir, finally recovering. "I am a doctor. Hello!"

Seven replied with the first relevant comment she could think of. "You have hair."

"Yes, thank you for noticing," said Bashir as he self-consciously brushed his hand through his hair.

O'Brien rolled his eyes and grabbed Bashir by the arm. "Come on Julian, we're finished here."

He virtually dragged Bashir towards the cargo bay doors.

"If you need anything, anything at all, then just let me know!" Bashir managed to shout out as they left. Once the doors closed, O'Brien released his grip.

"What was all that about?"

"What do you mean?" Bashir said innocently.

"I mean, acting all silly like some first year cadet with a crush on the teacher. It was disgusting!"

"I was not! replied Bashir with an air of indignation. "I was merely fascinated by the medical aspects of her Borg implants."

"Oh yeah! I noticed how you were fascinated by Seven's 'implants' all right. Just you wait until I tell Ezri."

"You wouldn't!" Bashir's face turned ashen.

"I would, unless you made it worth my while not to."

O'Brien's evil smile indicated he would indeed tell Ezri and enjoy watching Bashir bear the brunt of a Dax mood. Bashir wondered how many free holodeck sessions it would take to guarantee O'Brien's silence.

"Why patrol an empty ship?" said Security Officer Chris Crum, as he wandered around the deserted corridors of Voyager.

Crum answered his own question. "Because that is your job you big numpty!"

'_Crum was not to reason why, Crum was but to do or die_.' That was the message the academy had drilled into him day after day. If a commanding officer ordered you to blindly run single-handed into a dark cave to investigate some horrible, inhuman screaming noises then you didn't argue. You replied, "Yes, sir, how fast sir!"

At his graduation from the academy, his so-called friends had presented him with an old-fashioned red security uniform as a joke. This had become an iconic symbol at the academy, one which represented the high casualty rates of security officers during the early years of the Federation.

They even had this ongoing bet, a kind of a Crum dead pool. Each held a range of future Stardates. If Crum was KIA on an assignment the person who held this date won themselves a large amount of latinum thanks to Crum's demise.

Crum didn't mind their taunts; he even quite liked the idea of the bet. He saw it as a challenge, one which encouraged him to survive. If he turned up alive at the end of his tour of duty he'd collect the entire pot!

What he did mind was boring assignments like this one, especially when he patrolled alone. Plus, he had to admit, walking around these empty corridors was a little creepy. Starships were simply not designed to be empty, it felt unnatural.

Crum's unease grew worse the more he patrolled Voyager. He concluded the ship had all the charm and atmosphere of a tomb. Several times now Crum thought he'd heard someone or something moving around but his investigations had proven otherwise. Crum concluded his boredom combined with an overactive imagination was driving him insane.

A few yards ahead the door to one of the crew quarters suddenly opened causing Crum to jump. Instinctively he quickly drew his phaser but no-one emerged from the room. He stood silently for nearly a minute. The door remained stubbornly open.

"Hello. Is anybody there?" asked Crum, painfully aware how corny it sounded.

There was no reply. Crum briefly considered reporting the incident but quickly dismissed the idea. He did not want to appear foolish if the issue was simply a faulty door sensor.

Cautiously he made his way forward seeking a position which would allow him to gain a clear view of the room without presenting himself as too much of a target. The entryway was clear so Crum stealthily made his way in, sweeping the phaser from left to right. Nothing, just a simply storage room totally devoid of anything remotely interesting.

Sighing with relief Crum holstered his phaser. Mentally kicking himself for being so on edge he left the room and continued his patrol. Crum had walked only a few feet forward when the door hissed shut behind him. He spun around, his phaser drawn once more. Still, there was no sign of anyone. Suddenly the door opened again, then closed, then opened and again. Crum could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Deciding his patrol of this deck was over, Crum made his way towards the turbo-lift. Risking a glance over his shoulder he still could not see anybody but door continued its opening and closing shenanigans. His normal walking pace evolved into a rather brisk walk, which soon became a run. Even though his mind and training told him not to be so foolish his instincts, which had served him so well for so long, were screaming.

By the time he reached the turbo-lift he was running at full speed which nearly causing him to collide with Captain Picard as he exited the lift. Crum prepared for some sort of disciplinary action from the Captain as he desperately tried to formulate a valid reason for running around like a lunatic. To his surprise Picard wandered past as if nothing had happened. Crum sighed in relief. It seemed to him he had just made some sort of miraculous escape twice in succession!

A few moments later, Picard entered Engineering. He had briefly wondered why Mr Crum was in such a rush but as he had more important matters to attend to so he decided to let it go; for now.

Mudd and La'Forge stood over an engineering console, absorbed in their work.

"You have something to show me, Mr La'Forge?"

Geordie jumped slightly. He had been concentrating so much on the data he failed to hear Picard enter the room.

"Yes, Captain, if you take a look at the warp engines you'll soon see the problem we're having."

Picard followed La'Forge over to the warp engines. If this had been the Enterprise Picard would be witnessing the healthy blue glow of the warp core. As it was he was staring at a lifeless, empty core.

"I don't..." Picard stopped short. The warp core had suddenly flickered into life. A few seconds later it flickered and was once again dead.

Picard waited expectantly. He did not have to wait long. Another flicker and the warp core glowed with a dark, pulsating green.

"What is going on here, Commander?"

"My best guess," La Forge said, as he adjusted his tricorder to examine the Warp core through some new filter parameters he had entered, "is that the warp core is in a state of quantum flux. It appears to exist in this dimension in a fused state. However when you see the flicker effect," As if on queue the warp drive flickered briefly before stabilising as a warp drive which was covered in what appeared to be throbbing organic veins. "It switches to a warp core which works on different principles."

The warp core flickered again before returning to its lifeless state.

"Are you saying we are witnessing technology from other dimensions?" asked Picard.

"We already know at least on other dimension exists, the one we call the Mirror Universe. Theoretically there are an endless number of alternate dimensions. Somehow this warp drive is tapping into a number of these but the effect appears unstable.

"Is the ship in Danger?

"Unknown Captain. The affected area seems to be localised to the warp core itself. All our readings show no sign of the field expanding, or collapsing for that matter."

"Nevertheless, arrange from some portable shield generators to be beamed over from the Enterprise. I want a level ten shield around engineering at all times."

"Aye, sir."

The warp core pulsed into life once again.

Picard glanced briefly at the dark red, swirling colours. "Any ideas what's causing this?"

"There's little doubt in my mind some sort of experimental procedure has been performed on the warp engines. Exactly what or how this has been achieved is going to take time to decipher. However I have noticed one aspect which remains constant no matter what state the core is in."

"Which is?"

La'Forge called up some readings on his tricorder. "We've detected trace amounts of organic residue in and around the warp core. I checked our computer but could find no matching records in the Federation database."

"Could it be from some sort of Delta Quadrant life form?" asked Picard

"That's what we thought, so Mr Mudd has been checking through the Engineering logs for any clues.

"And?" prompted Picard.

Mudd stepped away from the console, motioning Picard over. Mudd and La'Forges silence made Picard fear the worst.

As Picard scanned through the details it was apparent there were sections missing due to data corruption. He'd had the same issue when reviewing Janeway's logs. Even so, Picard soon began to piece together a series of deeply disturbing events which at first surprised, then shocked and finally infuriated him. He now understood why Geordie had been so reluctant to mention this via a communicator and why both officers were now so unsettled.

After ordering the men to continue their investigation, while stressing the importance of keeping this matter quiet for now, Picard exited engineering and headed towards the sickbay. He intended to obtain a brief report from Dr Crusher, along with some quick treatment for his headache before he could compile the initial report for Worf. On the way, he tapped his Comm badge.

"Picard to the Bridge."

"Data here, Captain."

"Have you made any progress restoring the main computer?"

"Negative, Captain, the computer is being…uncooperative."

"Mr Data, I've heard many explanations as to why certain systems are not working, but uncooperative is not usually one of them."

"Nevertheless Captain, I believe this word best describes our situation. All of our diagnostics have so far indicated that the computer is fully operation. It should be responding to our commands but for some unknown reason it is not."

More mystery, more questions and not many answers, thought Picard. "What is your next course of action?"

"Mr Riker thinks we should try things 'the old-fashioned way' and is attempting to bypass the primary protocols by hardwiring the secondary..."

Picard interrupted, "A summary will be sufficient, Mr Data."

There was a slight pause before Data replied, "I believe the term the Commander used was 'giving the computer a kick-start.'

In the background of the comm link, Picard heard the sound of someone yelping in pain.

"Data, what's going on there?"

Data didn't reply straight away.

"Data, report!" Picard said more firmly.

"Sir," answered Data, "the Commander has received a mild electric shock." Picard could hear Riker cursing and swearing in a decidedly non-Starfleet fashion.

"However, he does not appear to have sustained any major damage."

"I'm okay, sir," Riker shouted, "Just a little bruising to my pride, that's all."

Picard couldn't help but smile, but then he suddenly thought of the warp engines.

"Data, La'Forge has discovered the warp core is in a state of quantum flux. It may be something similar is affecting the computer or one of its main sub-systems. I want you to run a complete scan of the ship to verify this. Compare notes with Mr La'Forge. Hopefully we may find a connection which will lead to some answers."

"Aye Sir."

The Captain ended the comm link as he arrived at Voyager's sickbay.

"Captain! I was just trying to contact you," said Dr Crusher.

"I was in communication with the Bridge while on my way here. I'm having a little trouble with a headache, so I thought I'd collect your report in person while receiving a little medical attention." Picard seemed embarrassed by the admission.

"That's odd, Deanna was in here a few minutes ago complaining of a headache."

Picard's instincts fired up. "Has anyone else developed a headache?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Crusher replied. "Besides, once I gave her some Sedamon she said she felt much better."

Picard relaxed again. Two seemingly unrelated headaches was hardly something to get exited about. He did feel a little disappointed though. They had so many questions and not much in the way of answers.

"You said you were trying to contact me. Have you had any luck in activating the EMH?"

"I'm afraid not." Crusher replied.

Great, thought Picard, something else on this ship that refuses to work the way it is supposed to.

"We've only made a few attempts so far," continued Crusher, "but each time we think we've re-initialized the EMH holo-matrix it comes crashing back down again. However we have discovered something I think you should see." Crusher handed Picard a curious device.

"It's the portable emitter Voyager's EMH used. From what I've read it allows him to exist outside sickbay. We discovered it under the chair behind the Doctor's desk."

Picard had of course heard about the portable emitter. It was a piece of 28th Century hardware that every holo-technician in the Federation was desperate to get their hands on, while every psycho-historian wanted it destroyed so as not to corrupt the timeline.

"I was examining it more closely," continued Crusher, as she opened up her tricorder and scanned near the Doctor's desk, "when I detected this."

As she aimed the tricorder to the right of the desk, it beeped suddenly. Picard examined the readings. He was no expert but he recognised humanoid DNA when he saw it.

"As you can see it is human DNA. Further scans show it is residue from human tissue after it was vaporised by a phase."

Any idea who it was?" asked Picard, suddenly not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Yes," replied Crusher. "We compared the DNA sequence with the records of all the ship's crewmembers and found a match."

Dr Crusher paused and then said, "It was from one of the senior Starfleet staff, a member of the bridge crew. Sir, it appears Harry Kim was killed here."


	6. Trials Without Tribbulations

Chapter 6

"Are you awake Captain?"

Janeway felt disoriented but she recognised the voice.

"Tuvok? Is that you?"

"Affirmative. Are you able to move?"

Janeway attempted to do so but found her arms and legs were restrained by metal clamps.

"No I can't move. Where are you? It sounds like you are directly to my right but all I see is an empty conference room.

Janeway thought the room looked familiar but she could not quite place where she had seen it before.

"I appear to be in a similar position." said Tuvok. "The room is not our actual location but an image from Terak Nor; otherwise known as Deep Space Nine. I surmise the image is projected into our minds telepathically which is why we can still view it if we close our eyes."

Janeway did not question Tuvok's summary of the situation. She knew Vulcan's had telepathic ability plus her view of the room seemed somehow remote, almost dreamlike.

"Any idea where we really are and how we got here?"

"Negative Captain. My last recollection before regaining consciousness, is reviewing the security protocols as part of my daily report."

And mine, thought Janeway, was of having lunch with Chakotay.

"If anyone's interested," said another familiar voice to her left, "mine, or should I say Captain Proton's last memory was saving the Earth and getting the girl...again."

"Tom! Are you ok?" said Janeway.

"Yes Mam; but I seem to be in the same predicament as you and Tuvok." replied Lieutenant Tom Paris.

With Tom somewhere on her left and Tuvok on her right, Janeway began to hope the rest of the crew were nearby.

"Is anyone else there? Chakotay? Harry?"

They waited a few moments but there was no response. Finally Paris broke the silence.

"Sounds like no-body here but us chickens."

Janeway thought it was typical of Tom to make a joke, no matter how dire the situation. Right now though, they needed answers not comedy relief.

"Tuvok, any ideas?" asked Janeway.

"The stardate of the last memory I can access compared to the present indicates we have lost over a week of time."

The Vulcan's natural ability to know the date based purely on their own body clock was one of the many reasons Janeway found their race so fascinating.

"Therefore," continued Tuvok, "I would surmise that we have been kidnapped and our memories of the last week erased or blocked."

"Why?" asked Janeway. "Who would do such a thing?"

"We've made more than our fair share of enemies during our travels." pointed out Paris.

"Mr Paris is correct," agreed Tuvok, "however the only fact we know for sure is someone or something has gone to great lengths to have the three of us here to bear witness to an event. I suggest our only logical course of action, for now, is to do just that."

"Agreed," said Janeway.

"Anyone got any popcorn?" asked Paris.

"Mr Paris, even if we had some 'popcorn' I fail to see how you would consume..." Tuvok interrupted his admonishment of Paris as he noticed several people entering the conference room.

Janeway gasped when she saw Chakotay, Torres, Seven of Nine and Neelix escorted into the room followed by various Starfleet personnel, including several she recognised.

The event they were brought to witness was about to begin!

'How the hell had it come to this?', thought Chakotay as he took his seat in the conference room.

Running over the events of the last few hours in his mind, he couldn't think of any different outcome. If they had tried to run away or fight they would have failed miserably with a crippled ship. When he woke up to discover they were in the Alpha Quadrant with missing crewmembers, missing memories and a Starfleet legend on the con asking if they needed any assistance, it seemed the best option to let Starfleet investigate.

After his first discussion with Captain Picard and the way his crew had been treated by the Enterprise personnel he started to get a bad feeling about where this was all heading. This worsened during the farcical transfer to Deep Space Nine. If he had any lingering doubts, they quickly melted away as they entered the conference room. One look at the faces of the people facing him confirmed his fears. He had no idea know what the investigation had uncovered so far but he had a feeling it would not be good.

Chakotay tried to remain calm. He needed to keep it together for the sake of the crew. He knew this would be tough but he decided he would listen to their accusations, see what evidence they had and try to answer their questions as honestly as he could. It was the only way to find out what they knew and he hoped he could discover something he could use to their advantage.

Prior to the debriefing Worf and Sisko had examined Picard's report. They had discussed various approaches. In the end it was agreed Sisko would be the main spokesperson, while the others observed and would intervene if they had any questions. Worf thought this was an excellent strategy, one that would keep the enemy off-guard and vulnerable to attack.

When they entered the room, Sisko took up position in the speaker's podium while the rest of the officers seated on one side of the conference table opposite Chakotay and the others. This consisted of Kira, Odo, Bashir, O'Brien, and Ezri. Solack took up position next to the entrance.

"When do the rest of the Federation arrive?"

Torres aimed the sarcastically delivered question directly at Worf. Worf merely smiled slightly as if amused by this lowly P'tagh. Chakotay knew enough about Klingons to realise their battle lines had been drawn and Torres had scored the first point.

With everyone finally seated, Sisko approached Chakotay.

"Mr Chakotay, as acting Captain of the USS Voyager would you care to fill us in on your return to the Alpha Quadrant?"

"I've already given a full report, both written and verbally."

"I appreciate that but this is purely for the official record of this de-briefing."

Chakotay sighed. He'd expected this would happen but decided now was not the right time to protest.

"We'd just come out of a particularly bad sector of space. It had taken us over a month to get through and most of the crew were already referring to it as, 'The month of hell.' The entire sector was one massive war zone. Every race we encountered held this paranoid belief we were in league with their enemies. Multiple races involved in multiple wars and feuds for reasons most of them had forgotten decades past. No matter which direction we went or how we approached each first contact we found ourselves in battle after battle."

Chakotay paused to take a drink of water before continuing. "After we finally left the sector the Captain ordered us all to relax a little. We started scanning for a peaceful planet or station which would provide some R&R and allow Voyager to restock and repair. While we were searching, Neelix organised some games, extra Holodeck time was allotted and I believe the Doctor and Seven put on an Opera."

Chokatay looked at Seven for confirmation.

"That is correct. It was Vivaldi."

Chakotay continued, "As for the Captain and I we decided we would have dinner together. It was her turn to cook. This was a kind of a tradition for us after surviving a difficult situation. It allowed us to relax while discussing the events and coming up with ideas on how to avoid such situations in the future. We had just started the entrée, which was Bolian Soup, when I was woken up by Captain Scott here in the Alpha Quadrant."

Sisko looked puzzled, "And you have no idea what happened?"

"None," replied Chakotay. "I wish I did. I wish we had some clue so we could start to look for the Captain and the others but I don't."

"Well, forgive me for being blunt Mr Chakotay but you don't seem too concerned with current events, nor do you appear forthcoming with any theories?"

Chakotay starred hard at Sisko, trying to keep his temper under control.

"Of course I'm concerned. Those people are not only my fellow officers but many of them I considered my close friends! As for theories, oh I have plenty of theories, but none of them make any sense. It's easy to remove memories. The Doctor over there," Chajotay pointed at Bashir, "could probably run the procedure in a matter of minutes. Any race with at least the same technology as the Federation could have removed our memories; but why? And why send only some of us home? There are beings we've encountered in the Universe who have the ability to send us home, like the Caretaker or Q; but again why and why only some of us?"

"There's also the possibility," interjected Bashir "that whatever you encountered was so emotionally damaging your mind refuses to remember what happened."

"Is that possible?" asked Worf.

"Oh yes," replied Bashir. "It's similar to mass psychosis. A group of people sharing in a terrifying or painful experience can, under the right conditions, all selectively forget the incident ever took place."

"Pah!" Worf bellowed. "Or maybe they are lying and removed the memories themselves?"

Worf's attention had been on Torres as he spoke, as if accusing her directly. She swore and got to her feet but Chakotay grabbed her arm. After a few moments, she managed to regain her composure. Sisko waited until she had sat down again then positioned himself directly facing Chakotay.

"Mr Chakotay, have you even considered the possibility that Mr Worf's theory is true? Could it be you were somehow involved in what happened to the rest of the crew and had your memories wiped to cover it up?"

"I have." Chakotay replied. "Briefly….but I dismissed the idea almost immediately."

"Why?"

Chakotay starred directly into Sisko's eyes as he spoke.

"Because that would be crossing the line."

Sisko broke eye contact with Chakotay and began to pace up and down the podium.

"Crossing the line? Tell me Mr Chakotay, were you not once in fact a member of the Marquis, a terrorist organisation who killed Cardassian and Federation personnel on a day-to-day basis?"

"Yes I was, but that was different."

Chakotay was quite surprised at his level of control as he answered Sisko's question. He realised any display of anger or emotional outbursts would not help them in anyway at the moment, which was why he had subdued Torres. It was no easy task. He wanted to scream in frustration.

Sisko stopped pacing and made eye contact with Chakotay again.

"How is it different?"

The question reminded Chakotay of the many discussions he had with the Captain over the whole Marquis issue. She so desperately wanted to understand why members of Starfleet would betray the mighty Federation. In the end Chakotay had the impression their discussions had helped but she never truly understood.

He felt he would have less success with Sisko in the short time they had but he tried to explain anyway.

"Because the Federation crossed the line. When they signed the treaty with the Cardassians they made a deal with the devil; a deal which betrayed whole communities on several planets who were told to leave their homes or face the wrath of the new Cardassian owners. Oh and those who didn't leave did indeed face this wrath while the Federation and your precious Starfleet turned their backs and let it happen!"

Chakotay paused expecting an immediate retort but when Sisko remained silent he continued.

"In signing this treaty the Federation had betrayed its founding principles. Why do you think so many of your own people became members of the Marquis while many more sympathised with our cause and offered assistance? "

Sisko rubbed his chin as if contemplating Chaotay's words.

"Some would argue the peace treaty actually averted a war and therefore saved far more lives than it cost." pointed out Sisko.

"That was a weak argument before I left the Alpha Quadrant," replied Chakotay. "One which is now irrelevant considering what the Cardassians have done since then."

Sisko realised that Chakotay was referring to the Cardassians betrayal when they became allies with the Dominion.

"Touché Mr Chakotay, Touché. Is it fair to say then that you joined the Marquis because you felt what you were doing was right, your actions justified?"

"Yes I would," agreed Chakotay.

Worf smiled. He realised were Sisko's questions were leading. Chakotay saw the smile, realising too late he had talked himself into a corner.

"So in other words Mr Chakotay, you will betray if the circumstances are right?"

Torres was on her feet again in an instant. "That isn't fair; you're twisting his words around!"

Sisko faced Torres. "Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres. During your time on Voyager have you ever experimented with the Warp drive?"

Torres was thrown off-balance by the question. "What?"

"Have you ever attempted to develop enhancements to the engines?"

Torres looked at Chakotay for guidance. He nodded so she answered.

"Of course I have. Over the years we've experimented with Trans Warp enhancements, slipstream drives; anything which might get us home a little faster. Why is this relevant?"

Ignoring the question Sisko asked another. "Have you ever considered…alternative power sources to boost the Warp engines?"

Torres started to lose her temper again. "Look, I've just told you. We have tried multiple procedures with limited success. In the end we have a much more efficient warp drive and gained the occasional boost which has scraped some light years off our journey; but that's it!"

Sisko retrieved a Padd from Worf. He placed it in front of Torres. She quickly read its contents then gasped.

"No, no…that, that wasn't us!"

Chakotay grabbed the Padd . It was a log detailing a procedure for enhancing the warp drive. By using a polaron grid and a sub-molecular resequencer to extract crystalline compounds from a nucleogenic lifeform, base proteins could be extracted and introduced into the warp core via the plasma injectors. This resulted in a substantial, albeit temporary boost to warp speed. It even detailed the recommended amounts; 10 isograms per light year.

Chakotay knew this log existed as part of a larger report detailing the whole incident with Captain John 'Rudie' Random and the rest of the Equinox crew. What he didn't understand was why only this single log entry had been recovered.

He put the Padd down and tried to explain. "Torres is right, this wasn't us. That is part of a report on an incident we had with the USS Equinox. This ship had also been transported to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker."

Chakotay noticed Odo typing away at a console, no doubt trying to verify his claim.

"We discovered the Captain and what was left of the crew had broken the prime directive by sacrificing sentient life-forms for use as a power source to enhance their warp drive."

"Captain," interrupted Odo. "The USS Equinox did indeed go missing on Stardate

54975.5. It was declared lost by Starfleet after investigations failed to find any trace of the ship or crew."

"That means nothing." pointed out Worf. "There have been many ships in Starfleet's history which have been declared missing in action."

"Indeed Mr Worf." agreed Sisko. "For arguments sake let's say you did encounter the Equinox. Why did you not report this back to Starfleet?"

Chakotay was a little uncomfortable with the question, especially as Janeway was not here to speak for herself. However he felt he had no choice but to answer truthfully.

"The Captain took the matter very personally. When she found out what they were doing they fled using these enhanced engines. Janeway pushed Voyager and the crew harder than ever before in the pursuit. In the end we managed to stop them. I feel I must state for the record this would not have been possible if Captain Ransom himself had not intervened. He sacrificed himself, destroying the Equinox in the process. There were no survivors. "

"A tragic tale but again I must press the question, why wasn't this reported back to Starfleet as part of your transmissions?"

Chakotay ignored Sisko's attempt at sarcasm.

"Reg's transmissions are few and their length undetermined. We report back our position and a brief overview. Anything of vital importance to the Federation has already been sent, such as our information on the Borg and Species 8247. In this instance the Captain decided when we made it back she would report the incident personally to Starfleet command. We all agreed the sordid details of Equinox and her fall from grace was inappropriate to include in a brief transmission.

Sisko paused for a while as if pondered over Chakotay's explanation. Then he approached Neelix and again changed the line of questioning.

"According to the data uncovered by Enterprise officers we have here a Talaxian who acted as the ship's guide through the Delta Quadrant. According to his own logs he mentions numerous times he is afraid the Captain will leave him behind once his knowledge no longer proves useful."

Sisko made his way over to Seven Of Nine as Neelix attempted and failed to splutter a response.

"Here we have a human who has spent most of her life as a Borg drone. In her logs she frequently questions the Captain's efficiency and even her competency."

Again without waiting for a response he moved on, returning to face Chakotay and Torres.

"And finally, we have two high-ranking officers who used to be members of a terrorist organisation. Their logs also indicate they constantly questioned the Captain's decisions."

Chakotay could not take this any longer, he rushed to his feet. "This is absurd! All you have is a few random log entries and…"

"Oh we have much more then a few random log entries," interrupted Sisko, his voice taking on a higher and stronger tone. "Voyagers warp core is in a state of Quantum Flux. Scans indicate it contains traces of an unidentified organic residue. In Voyager's sickbay, tricorder readings have located remnants of human DNA which have been vaporised by a Starfleet Phaser. Would it surprise you Mr Chakotay if I told you this DNA belonged to Ensign Harry Kim?

Chakotay sat down stunned at the thought of Harry being dead. His mind went into turmoil.

Sisko was relentless in his onslaught.

"Do you know what I think Mr Chakotay? I think you discovered the process of enhancing the warp drive with nucelogenic lifeforms, or you did indeed encounter the Equinox as you say and copied their techniques. You then attempted to create an enhanced warp drive of your own but when Captain Janeway discovered what you were attempting, she and the rest of the Starfleet crew tried to stop you. Your Marquis allies alongside Seven and Neelix used this as an excuse to take control of Voyager. After murdering or marooning those loyal to Janeway, you used the enhanced warp drive to return to the Alpha Quadrant. En route you concocted this cover story, attempted to cover up the evidence and arranged for your memories to be temporarily removed.

Sisko slammed both hands down on the table directly in front of Chakotay.

"Didn't you!"

Chakotay did not speak, he could not speak. He realised this investigation was revealing only information which dammed them. He refused to believe he would have any part in any mutiny against Janeway and the rest of the crew, a crew who he had long since considered his new family. The only logical conclusion, as Tuvok would put it, was someone was setting them up; but who and why? Chakotay put aside these questions for now. The time for waiting was over. He needed an escape plan so they could pursue this investigation themselves.

Chakotay was saved from having to respond to Sisko's accusations by Kira.

"Captain! A word please?" She nodded towards the door. Sisko reluctantly nodded agreement.

"Worf, Odo, would you join us?" said Kira. It was more of an order than a request.

Outside the room they made their way further the corridor to a position where they could discuss matters with a little more privacy.

Worf was the first to speak.

"Colonel, I do not understand why you interrupted the Captain when we were so close to victory!"

Ignoring Worf, Kira turned to Sisko. "Ben, what is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" replied Sisko.

"I can understand Worf being so single-minded." Kira paused and looked at Worf who stiffened at the suggestion.

"No offence Worf, but your ability to focus so intently on one angle is one of your strengths, but in certain circumstances it can be a weakness."

She turned her attention back to Sisko. "This investigation has hardly begun, and yet you've already accusing Chakotay and the others of mutiny!"

"But that's what it looks like?" answered a confused Sisko

"Exactly!" replied Kira. "The Sisko I know wouldn't take such facts at face value. He'd investigate further, look for alternative explanations or at least try to find more concrete proof."

"The Colonel is right Captain." said Odo. "Some of the evidence is circumstantial at best. Plus I find it suspicious the only data uncovered by the Enterprise officers so far just happens to be fragments which all point towards a conspiracy."

"You've been acting weird ever since you returned from the Prophets." Kira stated.

"I've not… I" Sisko started to protest but then stopped.

Going over the events in his mind he suddenly found he was surprised the evidence from Voyager had not aroused his suspicions. Kira was right, he had been acting differently. He felt detached from Chakotay and the whole investigation. He was not acting like a professional Starfleet officer. He was acting more like a Prophet on shore leave!

Sisko felt sick. He knew his time with the Wormhole aliens had affected them somewhat, what he did not realise is they had also affected him. They were the most detached beings he had ever come across; a race whom treated lives like pieces in a celestial game of chess. And he was becoming one of them.

Sisko pushed away the feelings of nausea. Now that he was aware of his behaviour he was determined to regain his humanity and become the Sisko he used to be.

"You're right!" said Sisko to Kira. "I think a year spent with the Prophets may have affected my judgement a little. I am a little rusty at this, what say we go back and start again eh?

Sisko smiled at Kira. She tilted her head as if sizing him up before returning the smile.

"Agreed. But if you go off the wall again I'm going to confine you to the brig!"

"Understood!" replied Sisko with good humour. "Well Mr Worf, What say you? Shall we dig a little deeper and see what emerges?"

"I have no weaknesses." Worf stated.

"Of course not!" Sisko agreed as he patted Worf on the shoulder. "Let's go shall we?"

Meanwhile, Chakotay and Torres were discussing their predicament.

"This is a set-up! We have to do something!" whispered Torres.

"Agreed." Chakotay replied. "Whatever happened out there, someone has gone to great length to make us take the blame for it."

"Do you have any ideas on what we're going to do about it?" asked Torres.

"We need to get away from Deep Space Nine and the Enterprise for a start. From there we can start an investigation of our own."

"You'll get no argument from me, but how?"

Chakotay had an idea. It was a little crazy but it just might work.

"I have an idea but I need a little time to flesh it out before they take us back to our quarters. Any suggestions?"

Torres thought for a moment before nodding. "I'll buy you that time and I won't charge you for it." She winked at Chakotay.

Moments later the interrogation party returned. Sisko apologised for his aggressive tone, promising a more thorough investigation would be carried out before any conclusions were made. He asked if anyone had any comments or suggestions before they continued. Torres stood up.

"Excuse me Captain, but I have an idea."

Sisko nodded for her to continue.

"The Doctor suggested earlier our collective memory loss may be due to some traumatic shared experience"

"That's correct." confirmed Bashir.

"Is there any medical procedure you could try to release those memories?" asked Torres.

Bashir thought for a moment. "There are several methods, hypnotherapy for example. It's been around for hundreds of years but is still quite effective."

"Could you hypnotise me to see if I can remember anything that may help?"

"I suppose I could. What do you say Captain?"

Sisko looked unsure.

"Look," said Torres, "time may be a deciding factor here. If the Doctor hypnotises me now it may help save some lives. At the very least it would rule out the theory."

Sisko still didn't seem convinced.

"Ben…" said Kira but Sisko interrupted. "All right. Doctor but let's do this in sickbay. Mr Chakotay, would you like to be present during the procedure?"

"Thank you Captain, but my presence may effect the results. I would like to make a request though"

"Go ahead," prompted Sisko.

"While the procedure is carried out, could they rest of my crew have some refreshments? It's been a while since any of us have eaten."

Again Sisko felt nauseated. The old Sisko would have arranged such basic needs without thinking. The new Sisko had been too busy executing strategies.

"Of course, I'll arrange for some refreshments to be brought down here. I'll also order power restored to the food replicators in your quarters."

"Thank-you Captain."

Once Sisko's team had escorted Torres to sickbay Chakotay was left with Seven and Neelix. In his mind they were Voyager's escape committee and their only chance to find out what was really going on. In whispers and using code words were possible, Chakotay laid out his idea. It was risky but they all agreed this was the way forward.

They had a plan!


	7. Hypnosis

"Damn this is frustrating!" shouted Janeway.

Tuvok, Paris and Janeway had been discussing the events they had been witnessing as best they could under their circumstances. Janeway's outburst occurred while Chakotay was going over escape plan options with Seven and Neelix. She desperately wanted to be there helping Chakotay discover who was behind this elaborate setup.

Janeway wanted scream at Sisko for accusing her staff of mutiny. Despite the missing memories she instinctively knew they would never willingly be a part of such action and agreed with Chakotay's conclusions.

Forced to witness as a helpless observer, Janeway used some simple meditation techniques Tuvok had taught her to try to calm the surging sea of emotions before they overwhelmed her. Feeling slightly better she breathed deeply. As she regained control another thought came to mind, one she had not considered before.

"Tuvok, how do we know what we are seeing is real?"

"We do not. And even if the events are real, we also cannot determine if they are in real time or a recording of events which have already taken place."

"Well if it is a type of Holo-Novel,' said Paris, "they know an awful lot about us and Starfleet for that matter.

"True," agreed Tuvok, "but if indeed there is a 'they' then 'they' could extrapolate all this information from Voyager's computer."

Janeway was concentrating on two sets of conversations. From what she could gleam from Chakotay's coded words the plan they were forming had possibilities. This gave her hope, a slim chance was better than none. Focusing back on Tuvok and Paris she realised their conversation was devolving into a bickering match.

"Gentlemen, we could all go quite mad thinking about all the possibilities. I suggest we carry on treating these events as if they were real and occurring as we see them, while keeping an open mind to other possibilities."

"A most logical course of action Captain. In the meantime, if you will excuse me, I will be meditating. If I can attain a state of Somm-Narr I may be able to access the missing memories, or at least determine if any have been removed."

"What's a Somm-Narr?" asked Paris

"As I understand it is somewhat like mind melding with yourself." answered Janeway.

"A most apt description." agreed Tuvok.

"You mind meld with your own mind?" said Paris.

"Mr Paris, before one can mind meld with others, one must first master their own." said Tuvok, quoting from the Book of Sarek.

"Fair enough I suppose. It sounds weird to me though." replied Paris.

Tuvok immersed himself in the trance necessary for the first stage of Somm-Narr. Paris and Janeway focused their attention back on the proceedings in the conference room just as a Ferengi entered bearing trays of food.

Prior to the arrival of the Ferengi, Chakotay had been discussing various options with Seven and Neelix. He knew if he could get on board Voyager without being detected, even for just a few minutes, they would have a good chance of escaping. What they would do next, well he would cross that particular bridge when he got to it. For now though, he thought their best chance of escape was through Seven.

"Seven, do they have you in crew quarters like the rest of us?" asked Chakotay.

"Negative," replied Seven. "They have converted a cargo bay into a temporary Borg regeneration chamber."

Cargo bays usually have their own transporter system, thought Chakotay. As if reading his thoughts Seven added, "They have cut power to the transporter systems. I have checked."

"Could you reactivate it?"

"I have already investigated this possibility. While I am certain I could reactivate the transporter, I have discovered that there is a shield around the cargo bay."

Chakotay had hoped for better but it was obvious the Deep Space Nine crew knew were not taking any chances with a Borg. He was fairly certain his quarters were not shielded however the doors were locked and he knew security was posted outside. This meant breaking out and trying to fight a whole squad of security officers single-handed was not an option.

"Could you disrupt the shield?" queried Chakotay.

Seven thought for a few moments before replying.

"Yes, but only for a few moments. Certainly not long enough to transport myself or anyone else off the station."

Chakotay felt he was running out of options as well as time. He was about to ask Seven if she had any ideas when the door opened to the conference room opened. Outside stood Quark with the food he had requested. The security guards were checking the food; no doubt they distrusted the Ferengi as much as every other race in the Alpha Quadrant did. Suddenly Chakotay saw his chance.

"Neelix," Chakotay whispered, "intercept that Ferengi and keep him busy for a few moments. I have an idea."

Neelix smiled, happy to be able to finally help out. "You can count on me Commander!"

As Quark entered the room, Neelix marched over to greet him. Neelix was no stranger to Ferengi as Voyager had encountered two of their kind before. They had travelled to the Delta Quadrant through the unstable Barzan Wormhole. Having spent some time with Arridor and Kol he had learned exactly what motivated their race; greed.

"Hello Mr Ferengi. My name is Neelix, and I must say that's a very interesting assortment of food you have there. I was the ship's cook on board Voyager you know and..."

Quark was only half listening to Neelix. While he was nodding and smiling at Neelix's comments, he was thinking of the potential profit margins he could gain if he could set up some sort business deal with these people. As soon as he had received the communication from Sisko he announced he was going to serve the food personally. His business instincts told him anyone who had spent time in the Delta Quadrant were bound to have items and knowledge worth his weight in latinum. He was just waiting for Neelix to finally shut up so he could make his first move, when he realised the alien was actually proposing a deal!

"... and as I will be providing the culinary knowledge," Neelix continued, "I'll expect an 80% cut of the profits."

Quark couldn't believe his lobes. "Wait a minute, you're offering to sell Delta Quadrant cuisine through me?"

"Of course," replied Neelix. "Who better to provide the distribution network and market these rare products but a Ferengi!"

Quark smiled a tooth-filled smile as he put down the trays, the food now forgotten.

"

Well, in that case Nee-lix, step in to my office. Let the negotiations begin!"

While Neelix had Quark's attention, Chakotay turned to Seven. "You think you could restore power to the transporter and disrupt the shield for long enough to transport a small item?"

"State the size of the item." said Seven, who made it sound more like an order then a request as usual.

"Say, the size of a neural transmitter?"

Seven paused while she calculated the amount of time needed to transport the item. At the same time concluding Chakotay could have only one possible use for a neural transmitter under their present circumstances. It was a plan with some chance of success, if they actually had a neural transmitter.

"It is possible. But I fail to see how you could acquire such an item."

Chakotay nodded over at the Ferengi.

"From him."

"Why would he provide us with a neural transmitter?"

"He's a Ferengi!" said Chakotay, as if that was all he needed to say to explain.

Seven examined the Ferengi more closely. Comparing the humanoid against the vast array of species she had come across while serving as a Borg drone she found a match.

"Species One Seven Two Three. One of the few races the Borg did not assimilate. Their whole race is dedicated to the point of obsession with acquiring personal wealth; a trait the Borg felt would not add to the collective in any positive fashion."

"Exactly! So we utilise those traits the Borg find so distasteful to our advantage."

Choktay nodded to Neelix to signal he was ready to speak to Quark. Neelix interrupted Quark who had been busy trying to negotiate a better commission rate, which he claimed was due to the amount of risk he would be taking if a customer developed an allergic reaction to the food.

"I'm sorry Mr Quark, but if you want to increase your commission then I'm afraid you will have to speak to Mr Chakotay. He's Voyager's equivalent of the Grand Nagus so it would be best if you speak to him anyway."

Neelix introduced Quark to Chakotay and Seven. Quark shook Chakotay's hand vigorously.

"Mr Chakotay, may I say it's an honour to meet you."

He finally let go of Chakotay's hand.

"Actually it's an honour to meet all of you. Members of the Voyager crew who have spent years in the delta quadrant, gathering data and collecting items no-one in the alpha quadrant has ever seen!"

Quark was practically beaming with delight.

"I happen to own the station's bar and, once this little misunderstanding with Starfleet is all worked out I'd like to invite you over for a drink, which will be on the house of course. Then afterwards we could, maybe discuss a little business?"

"I'd like to discuss a little business now, if that's all right with you?" asked Chakotay.

Warning bells began to go off in Quark's head. People were not normally so eager to do business with him. Usually he had to chase them, not the other way around. Plus he did not like how serious Chakotay looked.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked cautiously.

"Could you get your hands on a neural transmitter?"

Quark's smiled dropped quicker than his average customer's latinum disappeared while playing at one of his Dabo tables.

"I wouldn't know anything about that!" he stated while glancing left to right cautiously.

"Quark!" Chakotay said sharply. "We don't have time for this. Can you get your hands on one quickly, or can't you?"

"Of course I can!" Quark replied, offended anyone would even suggest such a thing.

"But you never can be too careful, especially with Odo back on the station."

"Odo left the room with the others." pointed out Neelix.

"That means nothing to him. He's a shape shifter! He could have slipped under the door and hey, did that chair just move?"

Quark grabbed a nearby chair and bit one of the legs. Seven moved closer to Quark and quickly examined the chair.

"It is simply a chair. You appear agitated. Allow me to assist."

Seven grabbed Quark's ear. He yelped with pain, dropped the chair and slapped her hand away.

"Ouch! What are you doing?"

"Your species has pleasure centres in the ear lobes. I was attempting to seduce you."

"Well you nearly ripped my ear off!" said Quark as he rubbed his sore ear and backed away from Seven towards the exit.

"It's been nice meeting you folks but I'm just supposed to serve you the food and clean up when you've finished, so if it's all the same to you..."

Chakotay had to act fast. He knew that Quark would leave if he did not do something.

"I'm rich!" he suddenly blurted out.

Quark stopped in his tracks.

"If you were to help us out" Chakotay continued, "the reward would be..."

"What?" asked Quark.

"Well, more latinum than you could imagine!"

Quark was not totally convinced but the thought of all that latinum made him stay to hear Chakotay out.

"I don't know, I can imagine a lot."

"You'll get it."

"I'd better," replied Quark, but then he suddenly had a thought, "Where are you going to get the latinum from?"

"From the Maquis." replied Chakotay.

Quark smiled wryly, "Well, I don't see how, seeing as though the Dominion wiped them all out."

Even though Chakotay learned nearly two years ago about the eradication of the Maquis, it still pained him to hear Quark mention it. He quickly pushed this aside as he knew he was close to getting Quark's co-operation.

"Yes, they were. But the Maquis had funds hidden in multiple locations. As I'm probably the only high-ranking Maquis officer still alive, the fact that I know where these locations are and have the access codes makes me a very rich man. If you've ever dealt with any of the Maquis before then you'll know we pay our debts."

True, thought Quark. He had dealt with the Maquis several times. There is nothing like desperate terrorists to help put his prices up.

Chakotay could sense Quark softening up.

"And of course, there's no risk to you."

Quark moved away from the door and back towards Chakotay. There was nothing better to interest Quark than a lot of latinum combined with no consequences in obtaining it.

"How so?"

"You must know the station pretty well," Chakotay explained, "so let's just say you provide us now with two sets of co-ordinates. One from a safe, concealed location in your bar where you will place the transmitter in say two hours, the other inside my quarters.

"And?" asked Quark, waiting for the catch.

"And nothing. We will take care of the rest."

Excellent, thought Quark. Even if Odo found out he had obtained a neural transmitter, he could not prove anything!

Quarks smile slowly returned as he thought of all that latinum, as well of getting one past his old adversary.

"All right, I must be getting sentimental in my old age but I'll help out. I really did have a soft spot for the Maquis so I'll only charge half of all the latnium I can imagine!"

Chakotay smiled back at Quark, feeling for the first time since arriving in the Alpha Quadrant he was finally starting to take control again.

Meanwhile in sickbay, Bashir was hooking Torres up to a Bio monitor so he could monitor her life signs during the hypnotherapy session. In addition to the personnel from the de-briefing, Sisko had asked Garek to attend. The official reason was his experience in the Obsidian Order could prove helpful. As part of his interrogation skills Garek was trained in multiple techniques, including hypnotherapy and identifying implanted memories

Unofficially Sisko felt the need to surround himself with his Deep Space Nine colleagues. He was afraid of slipping back into the detached state of mind he had acquired whilst spending so much time with the wormhole aliens.

There was no real reason for most of the people in sickbay to be present during this procedure. Under normal circumstances Bashir would insisted most of them to leave but it seemed that Sisko was not the only one who wanted to be with old friends.

"I'm ready." announced Bashir. He glanced at Garek. "Unless you have any equipment you would like to set up?"

"I'm afraid the type of equipment I would usually utilize is deemed illegal by Starfleet and would have, well just let's say unpleasant side effects on the young lady."

Torres was not easily disturbed but the gleeful smile combined with a cold, penetrating stare made her feel more nervous than any Cardassian she had ever encountered before.

"Besides," Garak continued, "I rarely used hypnotherapy during my sessions. It's an unreliable technique in my line of work for several reasons, not least because the person has to be willing for the hypnotherapy to work. For some strange reason people who entered my interrogation chamber were rarely in a willing mood."

"Thank you for sharing such endearing memories." commented Bashir dryly.

With Garak's easygoing and friendly manner, it was sometimes easy to forget he used to be a ruthless Cardassian agent.

"My pleasure!" beamed Garak.

Bashir focused his attention back on Torres. "Right, let's begin."

Bashir explained the techniques he would be using to Torres. Meanwhile Torres was wondering what Chakotay was up to and if he had managed to turn his idea into a workable plan. She had little reason to think anything would come out of this session. She had volunteered purely to allow Chakotay and the others time to formalise their ideas. The gamble appeared to have paid off. However now she was here undergoing hypnosis Torres began to have feelings of apprehension.

What if they find something, she thought, and what if it is not pleasant?

She realized that Bashir was holding an object which glowed with multi-coloured sparkling lights. She thought the sparkle was a nice sparkle and her eyes followed it wherever Bashir moved it. While watching the pretty sparkling thing, she listened to Bashir's voice which was smooth and comforting. Her Klingon side tried to fight the suggestion she should sleep; allowing herself to be hypnotised would be a sign of weakness. But the human part of her knew if she fought against Bashir's suggestion, then this session would be over and Chakotay may not have had the time he needed.

With a final surge of will she quietened her Klingon nature and allowed herself to fall asleep.

"Is she?" asked Sisko

"Asleep? Oh yes." replied Bashir. "Okay, we'll start off with something simple. B'Elanna, where are you?"

Bashir found his patients responded better under hypnosis if he referred to them by their first name.

"In a sickbay." replied Torres. Her eyes were closed and she seemed totally relaxed.

Bashir quickly scanned the readings on the monitor before continuing. "In a sickbay where?" he prompted.

"Deep Space Nine." Torres's eyelids fluttered slightly.

"Good. Now I want you to go back, back to when you were on board Voyager in the Delta Quadrant."

Bashir paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Are you there?"

"Yes."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the Holodeck."

"What are you doing on the holodeck?"

"I'm Mistress Volatara. I'm helping Captain Proton. We only have 14 minutes to save the Earth."

A few smiles broke out amongst the staff as they were reminded of some of the holosuite adventures they had experienced over the years.

Bashir became serious again as he continued. "B'Elanna, I want you try to concentrate on Captain Janeway.."

Bashir noted that her heart rate went up slightly when he asked this question. "I want you to remember what happened to her and how you returned to the Alpha Quadrant."

Bashir grew concerned as Torres breathing stopped suddenly, her heart rate and blood pressure increased. He reached for a hypospray but stopped as Torres exhaled sharply and resumed normal breathing. Her readings returned to normal.

Breathing a sigh of relief he carefully continued. "B'Elanna, where are you now?

"Back..."

"Back where?" Bashir prompted.

"Back ... to where it all began." answered Torres.

Bashir noted with some alarm her heart rate was decreasing

"That's odd." Bashir said as he picked up a medical tricorder to confirm the monitor readings.

"Back ... to where it all started," said Torres with a whisper. Her heart rate was still dropping.

"Doctor," said Garak with a tone of urgency in his voice. "I think it might be a good idea if you brought her out of this trance now!"

"I think you are right," agreed Bashir.

He picked up a hypospray and injected it into Torres' neck but her heart rate was still going down; warning klaxons from the bio-monitor indicated they were reaching dangerous levels.

"B'Elanna," Bashir said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"I want you to listen very carefully. When I count to three you will be back in the sickbay on Deep Space Nine. You will wake up feeling refreshed and healthy."

After a slight pause Bashir counted.

"One, Two, Three!"

Torres did not respond.

Bashir realised he was in danger of losing his patient.

"Code blue, get me a.."

He was interrupted by Garak.

"B'Elanna Torres," his voice booming out, strong and commanding, "We will not ask you any further questions whatsoever regarding Captain Janeway, the missing Starlfeet crew or how you returned to the Alpha quadrant."

Torres's heart rate immediately began to stabilise.

Garak continued, "Starlfeet command has ordered us to cease all investigations into this matter, which is now officially closed. You are to come back to the sickbay in Deep Space Nine and I order you to wake up, now!"

Torres suddenly sat up, her eyes flew open. She screamed.

In the conference room Quark had left to obtain the Neural Transmitter, leaving Chakotay waiting for the return of Torres.

He was finalising their plans with Seven and Neelix when they all abruptly fell silent; each one of them experiencing a moment of strange mental awareness. An image appeared suddenly inside their minds and then only a few moments later it disappeared.

"What on Talax was that?" exclaimed Neelix

"You saw it too?" asked Chakotay. Neelix nodded

"I experienced a vision of a vast nebula, comprised mainly of plasma energy." stated Seven, "I have never encountered a nebula of that magnitude before."

"I have," pointed out Chakotay. "It was the Badlands."

Well, thought Chakotay, if we do manage to escape at least we know where we are supposed to start looking.

In the sickbay, Torres was recovering from her ordeal. Bashir ran some scans, concluding she had suffered no permanent damage. He surmised her scream had simply been a shock reaction to the abrupt ending of the hypnosis.

Sisko asked her if she remembered anything. Lying, she replied that she had no memory of the session. The truth was she clearly remembered one thing; witnessing an image of the Badlands. However she was not going to disclose this information to anyone but Chakotay. Torres did not know want the vision meant but it may be the clue they were looking for.

"What exactly happened Doctor?" asked Sisko.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I bet Garak has an idea."

All attention focused on Garak who presented his most innocent look. "Well, I'm also not entirely sure but I have had experience of a similar situation."

"Explain." promted Sisko.

"As I mentioned earlier, it was rare a person was a willing participant in an interrogation, but there was one occasion when a fellow agent had been accused of being a double agent for the Romulans. He passionately denied the accusation of course, but actually volunteered to be interrogated so he could clear his name. As he seemed willing I tried hypnosis and discovered he had been brain washed by the Romulans. He was passing over top-secret information but then forgetting the event ever took place. The poor sap had no idea he was a secret agent."

"That's not unheard of especially with the Romulans." interjected Bashir.

"So what happened?" asked Kira

"I decided to try and discover the identity of those who had brainwashed him in the hopes I could somehow turn this to my, I mean Cardassia's advantage. I was pressing him for more information when he became agitated. Believing I was on the brink of a breakthrough I continued until he suddenly fell silent and died. Just like that!"

Garak clicked his fingers.

"The autopsy showed he simply died of a heart attack. My superiors blamed me of course, claiming I had put him under too much pressure. What do they think I am some sort of amateur? How dare they imply…"

"Can we get back on topic Mr Garak?" said Sisko, interrupting Garek's rant.

"Oh, yes, of course." Garek continued. "However I suspected he had been programmed with a mental failsafe. One which would subconsciously cause his heart to slow down and eventually stop if asked to remember certain details while under hypnosis."

"So when you observed Torres's reaction to Bashir's questions, you assumed she had been programmed in a similar fashion?" asked Siko

"Exactly. I thought if I could reassure her subconscious we were not going to ask any more questions on the matter, I could deactivate the failsafe long enough for me to wake her up."

"A theory which, thankfully proved correct," said Bashir.

"It was my pleasure." answered Garek. "Although I cannot truthfully take all the credit. I have had some degree of success in recreating this scenario while experimenting on my uncle."

Ignoring Gareks last remark Sisko pondered the implications of what they had just witnessed. If Torres had been programmed in such a way it was a good bet the others had as well. If so, he concluded, then they were back at square one with this investigation.

Back on Voyager, Picard was on the bridge. He had been trying to help Riker and Data activate the main computer when he had a sudden vision of the Badlands. The mental image lasted several seconds before disappearing. He questioned Riker and Data but neither had shared his vision. He was about to contact Troi when she contacted him.

"Captain, I've just had a strange vision..."

"Of the Badlands?" Picard guessed.

"Yes, did you experience it as well?"

"Affirmative, any ideas?"

"Not really, I can't sense anything or locate a source. However I have a feeling something is definitely amiss."

"Agreed. Let's see if we can track down any other strange headaches or unexplained visions and see if a pattern emerges. Speak to the crew and find out if they have anything to report, no matter how insignificant it may seem."

"Aye, Sir."

Troi arrived in sickbay to ask Crusher if she had noticed anything, just in time to see her slam her hand down on the computer console in frustration.

"Damn!"

Counsellor Troi did not need any counselling skills or the powers of an empath to work out was wrong with her fellow officer and close friend. She knew from earlier conversations no matter what approach Crusher applied, the holo-matrix would de-compile into a mess of corruption the moment she tried to initialise it.

"Maybe you should try a different approach?" said Troi, trying to calm Crusher down.

"What different approach? I've tried every single method in the book, and then some, but the EMH program is too far gone; it's irretrievable!"

Crusher ran her hand through her hair while trying to think of new options.

"It would be easier if we just programmed a new one, although that wouldn't help us find out what happened to the crew."

"Isn't there some sort of backup system?" asked Troi.

"If only there were, but there is only enough room in the computer for one EMH... but wait a minute."

Crusher seemed like a light had just gone on in her head as she grabbed a tricorder. She went back to the Doctor's desk and scanned the portable emitter she had placed there earlier then promptly forgotten about.

Crusher slapped herself on the forehead, "Oh, I've been such an idiot!"

"What?" asked Troi.

"This emitter holds a copy of the Doctor's personal sub-routines and memory algorithms, basically the part of the EMH that makes this one unique. Now we know the original in the computer is far too corrupted to recover, so all we have to do is remove all traces of the corrupt one, install a fresh clean holo-matrix and then download the data held in the emitter. He'll be annoying patients again in no time!"

"But where are you going to get a new holo-matrix from?"

"From the Enterprise of course!"

"You have an EMH Mark I on the Enterprise?" Troi said.

Troi was surprised at this information; not only was she aware of Crusher's aversion to EMH programs but the EMH Mark I had been deemed obsolete years ago.

"I like to keep one around." Crusher said with a mischievous grin. "I find they can make good decoys in an emergency!"

Crusher decided she would leave her friend in the dark for now and save the story for another day.

"Crusher to Enterprise, one to beam up."

Crusher waved to a confused looking Troi as she dissolved into atoms ... only to reappear in transporter room one on board the Enterprise moments later.

As she walked through the corridors towards sickbay, she thought back to the time when the Borg had been trying to break into sickbay and the EMH had distracted them long enough for her to escape through a Jeffries tube.

As soon as she arrived in sickbay, she instructed the computer to activate the EMH program.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," said the EMH as soon as he appeared. He glanced around and saw Dr Crusher.

"Oh, it's you," he said distastefully.

He glanced uneasily at the door. "What is it this time, more Borg? Or is it an ex-lover, who you want me to distract while you attempt to squeeze your substantial behind into a Jeffries tube?"

When Crusher had heard the news about Voyager on the other side of the galaxy with only an EMH Mark I as the ship's doctor, she immediately felt sorry for them. Not only where they so far from home but they had to put up with the worst bedside manner in Starfleet history.

"No," replied Crusher curtly, "I have a sick patient and you are the only one who can fix him."

The EMH immediately brightened up, "My what a pleasant change from professional decoy and floor scrubber. Where is this poor fellow, what are his symptoms? Hey, what's that?"

The EMH backed away from Crusher who was attempting to attach the portable emitter onto his arm.

"It won't harm you," she explained. "But I need you to travel with me to another ship to have a look at this patient. This device will allow you to leave the room."

The EMH did not entirely trust Crusher's motives but he allowed her to attach the device anyway.

"Well it's about time Starfleet invented something like this." The EMH twisted his arm to have a look at the device as Crusher left the room.

"Come on." Crusher shouted as she walked through the exit. The EMH tentatively followed. He finally stepped into the corridor after sticking his arm in and out of the doorway several times.

As they made their way to the transporter room the EMH grew in confidence. He chatted aimlessly about his first away mission and made several comments about holograms replacing all Starfleet personal in the near future. Crusher hoped if they did manage to reactivate Voyager's EMH, he would not turn out to be as annoying as this one.

Back on Deep Space Nine, Chakotay, Neelix and Seven had been returned to their quarters while Sisko, Worf and Kira conferred with the Enterprise crew to exchange their latest findings.

After a brief regeneration cycle, Seven emerged from her sleep. Within minutes she had dismantled her chamber for the parts she needed.

The escape plan was underway!


	8. Escape

"Captain, are you still there?" questioned Tuvok.

"Yes," Janeway replied. "We were becoming quite concerned Tuvok. You have been in your trance for quite some time. Did your meditation reveal anything?"

"I believe so Captain. Although I was unable to retrieve any of the missing memories, I am however convinced those memories still exist."

"How so?" asked Janeway while again trying to twist her head in the general direction of his voice. It was a reflex action but due to the restraints this would only result in an injury if she were not careful.

"When I reached a state of Somm-Narr," explained Tuvok, "I first attempted to access earlier memory centres starting with my childhood on Vulcan. I was successful. Gradually I progressed through key points in my lifetime, such as graduating from Starfleet or serving on the Excelsior with Captain Sulu. Eventually I progressed to a point approximately one week ago. However, all efforts to access any further details from this period were blocked."

"Blocked? How?" asked Paris.

"By a powerful telepathic force. I could not discern if the source was from a sentient being or via a technological device. However I was unable to break through its defences."

"But if you were unable to break through, then how do you know these memories still exist?" asked Paris.

"Logic, Mr. Paris. Why use telepathy to block access to memories that do not exist?"

"There is that I suppose," admitted Paris. "So what now?"

"I would suggest the first course of action is to describe what has occurred on Terak Nor while I was meditating."

Janeway quickly explained what they had witnessed on Deep Space Nine. As their view of the proceedings had been confined to the events which transpired in the conference room, this had been limited to Chakotay's discrete discussions with Seven and Neelix. Once the Deep Space Nine personnel had returned with Torres, Janeway and Paris had been cut off from their unique virtual conference, leaving them with blackness. Paris had commented if this was a holo-novel then it had quite a good beginning but now was becoming a little boring.

Joking aside Janeway was far from bored. Her crew were about to make a risky escape attempt against Starfleet officers who were looking for any excuse to lock them all up and throw away the key. She thought it had been frustrating enough to see what was going on without any means of interaction. Once this limited involvement had been removed she felt even more helpless. For now, they seemed to be out of options.

In a cargo bay on Deep Space Nine, Seven of Nine was finalising her preparations. Hooking a cable from the regeneration chamber into the power matrix of the transporter, she created a simple power feed line and began to divert power from the chamber into the transporter.

Seven kept the power drain to a minute amount, simulating the normal required levels for regeneration. While the transporter was gradually powering up, she felt tentatively for the edges of the shield perimeter. Once located, she placed a small device as close to the shield as possible without any direct contact. The device was crude at best; constructed from various parts of the chamber it resembled a miniature Tricorder.

Returning to the transporter, Seven programmed in the two sets of co-ordinates provided by the strange Ferengi, then waited for sufficient power for before diverting the feed directly into the device. Once the device gained full power it automatically activated.

Earlier Seven had generated a new series of nanites whose sole purpose was to convert themselves into sodium atoms. These atoms now existed in the air of the cargo bay in the form of a fine mist.

The device magnetically extracted and trapped these atoms, cooling them to several million degrees of absolute zero in the process. A coupling beam shot out of the device, connecting to the shield which began to glow a hazy blue colour. The converted sodium atoms passed through the beam into the shield, causing it to undergo a process of electro magnetically induced transparency. This process changed the shield frequency from one of a solid force, to a field which objects could pass through without any resistance. Unfortunately due to the size of the device, the beam could only be sustained for a few seconds before a fresh supply of sodium atoms were required.

Seven did not have the resources to construct a larger device. There was also not enough time to transport an object as large and as complex as a human being before the shield reformed. However, this was not her intention. Instead Seven activated the transporter sequence she had programmed earlier.

In Quark's Bar Quark had stood patiently, albeit painfully, in the same position for the last hour. On a shelf directly behind him sat the neural transmitter he had 'acquired' as part of his arrangement with Chakotay. He could not risk the possibility of anyone discovering the transmitter before Chakotay could collect it. So he had been forced to stand making idle chatter with some boring Talossian Ambassador who was so drunk he had told the same story five times in a row.

He was starting to think something must have gone wrong when he noticed the transmitter shimmer out of existence as it was finally beamed out of his bar. Quark heaved a sigh of relief before smiling the deeply contented smile of a Ferengi who is about to become rich.

"Life doesn't get much better than this!" he commented to the Ambassador before excusing himself. As a treat for a deal well done Quark made his way to a holosuite for an ear massage from a much gentler version of the Borg female he had met earlier. Being in charge of holosuite programming had its advantages!

Back in the cargo bay, Seven quickly erased all records of the previous transport, replacing them with new co-ordinates which would transport her to the conference room. The destination was a ruse; she knew her attempt would be unsuccessful.

As the device re-established its coupling beam, Seven deliberately triggered the alarms by feeding a large amount of power from the chamber to the transporter. She then initiated the transport as the chamber doors opened and a pair of security guards entered with their phasers raised.

Seven felt a tingling sensation signifying the first stage of matter dematerialization. The transport would fail but Seven was prepared for this. She was also prepared for alternate scenarios where the guards would stun her before the transport failed. All that mattered was she provide enough of a distraction for the real escape.

What Seven was not prepared for was a third scenario as the security guard fired his phaser directly at the transporter, shutting the beam down instantaneously. This had the undesirable side-effect of causing Seven to go into synaptic shock!

Meanhwile in Chakotay's quarters, the transmitter had rematerialized on a table next to his bed. He realized time now was his worst enemy, yet he still paused before inserting the transmitter into his neck. The last time he had attempted such a procedure was with the assistance of the Doctor on Voyager. Even though he remembered where the device should be placed, he did not have the luxury of using medical equipment to hook the transmitter safely as well as painlessly to his nervous system.

This, thought Chakotay, is going to hurt.

Chakotay was correct. The pain from inserting the transmitter caused him to black out. Some time later, Chakotay awoke in strange surroundings.

"These are not my quarters?" he said out loud.

Then he remembered where he was and what was supposed to be doing. He felt tentatively around the back of his head. There was some blood but sure enough the transmitter had been inserted correctly. Cursing himself for his weakness he tried to concentrate to activate the transmitter but found his emotions were in turmoil. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious and was expecting a security team to burst in at any moment.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Remembering his father's teachings he began chanting the language of his ancestors, following the ritual to enter the trance-like state required for talking with his animal guide. Soon Chakotay began to achieve the inner piece this ritual always brought him. He felt his heartbeat ease, his pulse slow its racing. Whispering a silent word of thanks to his people, he focused on the task at hand.

In the shuttlecraft bay of Voyager sat a lone craft. Larger and far more sophisticated then any Federation shuttlecraft, the Delta Flyer Mark II was an impressive piece of technology. The original Delta Flyer had been constructed quickly to rescue an advanced probe from deep within a gas giant's atmosphere and was based on an idea by Tom Paris. Tom's ideas, combined with B'Elanna's engineering skills, and Seven's Borg knowledge had resulted in the Delta Flyer. Throughout its lifetime, the Delta Flyer had proven to be a great asset to Voyager until her untimely demise when she had been destroyed by the Borg.

Shortly after the demise of the original ship, Tom had asked Janeway for permission to build another. Janeway not only gave her permission for the project, but also asked to be involved in the design, as did several other key personnel. With no desperate deadline to meet, they improved on the original design and added many enhancements.

One of these enhancements was a system Chakotay was now exploiting. The Voyager crew needed aces up their sleeves to survive in the Delta Quadrant. One such ace was that Seven could remotely activate the Delta Flyer through a neural interface. This would allow control independent of Voyager's computer; an enhancement which had already saved a stranded away team and provided a surprise attack when Voyager had been disabled by Kazon pirates.

Although designed with Seven in mind, Chakotay had once been part of a Borg Collective. This experience meant Chakotay could, in theory, also link to the Delta Flyer; a theory which was fortunately proving to be true.

As the main systems of the Delta Flyer activated, Chakotay nearly passed out again as waves of pain destabilized the tenuous connection. Steadying his focus, he initiated the Flyer's transporter, mentally inputting the co-ordinates of his location. Chakota breathed a sigh of relief as the image of the quarters on Deep Space Nine were replaced by the welcome surroundings of inside the Delta Flyer.

As soon as he rematerialized he broke the neural connection and manually activated the transporter after locating Neelix and Torres. As they took up their positions, Chakotay quickly scanned the cargo bay. He was surprised to see that Seven was not there. With a growing sense of urgency he scanned the whole station for Seven's distinctive life form signature.

The security guard who destroyed the transporter had shakily reported to Bashir that he had 'killed the Borg woman' by accident. After an emergency transport to Sickbay, Bashir had quickly established that she had simply suffered a mild case of synaptic shock and should be up and about again in a few hours. Seven's system was far more resilient than the Doctor had estimated however, and she had regained consciousness several minutes ago. She had kept her eyes closed and faked unconsciousness, so that she could listen to the discussion between the doctor and Sisko.

"Her recuperative skills are quite remarkable," exclaimed Bashir admiringly. "Just look at these life signs."

Bashir turned his padd around so that Sisko could see the results for himself.

"Almost back to normal," commented Sisko.

"Yes, but a few moments ago they were twenty percent lower. Amazing! Any idea what she was trying to do?" asked Bashir.

"Some sort of escape attempt I guess. She may have been trying to beam out to free the others, but Odo's looking into it."

"Did any of the others try to escape?"

"Not that I am aware," answered Sisko. "We scanned their quarters as soon as we became aware of the attempt. They were all still present and correct".

Which means, thought Seven, that Chakotay was either unsuccessful in his attempt or he had not yet attempted to use the Neural interface. Surmising that the Doctor may soon become suspicious, Seven decided to open up her eyes as if she had just awoken. Sitting up she addressed the Doctor.

"Where am I?"

"Take it easy," said Bashir, as he tried to make Seven lie down again.

"You're in Sickbay. You suffered synaptic shock due to the feedback from the Transporter, but you're ok now."

"Odo to Captain Sisko."

Sisko tapped his badge communicator, "Sisko here, what is it, Constable."

"I ordered a manual check of all the ... er, guest's quarters, just to make sure they were actually still there. Security reports Chakotay, Torres and Neelix are missing."

"Missing! How?"

"Unknown at this time. We are scanning the station now to see if we can locate them."

Sisko turned to Seven. "Where are they? What have you done?" he demanded furiously.

Sisko waited for a reply, but noted with some alarm that she was beginning to dematerialize before his very eyes. Before she fully faded, she managed to raise an amused eyebrow at Sisko and utter something as he frantically informed Ops to trace the source of the transporter signal. Turning to Bashir he noticed that the Doctor seemed equally mystified.

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Bashir.

Sisko realized he was referring to whatever Seven muttered as she transported away, rather then the fact that she had actually escaped.

"I was too busy talking to Ops," answered Sisko. "What was it, what did she say?"

"Just one word," replied Bashir. "Scorpion?"

As soon as Seven rematerialized on board the Delta Flyer, Torres raised the ships shields to prevent anyone from beaming them back again.

"You should not have risked beaming me aboard," stated Seven. "You have endangered the mission."

Chakotay smiled. "You are welcome. Besides, I have a feeling we will need your skills soon."

Seven noted that they where approaching the hanger doors, which where still shut.

"With Voyager's computer down, I cannot bypass the hanger door controls."

Chakotay's smile became wider. "We won't be needing your skills in that area."

With a great feeling of satisfaction, Chakotay activated the Delta Flyer's main phaser banks.

In Ops, Kira was in hunched over a very nervous Ensign; watching as he ran a trace on the transporter signal. Within a few moments, the trace confirmed that Seven had beamed over to Voyager but her location was shielded. Kira opened a channel to Commander Riker.

"Riker here, Colonel. If it's about the escape attempt, we already know."

Kira noted Sisko's arrival as he stepped off the turbo lift. "How so, we've only just.."

"I think the biggest clue," Riker interrupted, "Was when they destroyed Voyager's main hanger doors."

Kira gave a stern look to the Ensign who had just performed the scans, annoyed that he had missed this vital piece of information.

"They're making a break for it in some sort of shuttlecraft," continued Riker. "We're beaming back to the Enterprise now and will intercept them shortly."

"I'll send out the Defiant to assist."

"No need, we have everything under control. Riker out."

Kira was fuming with rage. How dare he cut her off like that!

"Well, I don't care what he says. Ben, you up for a little game of cat and mouse?"

Sisko nodded enthusiastically, "Let's see who catches who first!"

As Sisko turned back towards the lift, Worf stood up to join them.

"Not you, Worf."

Worf seemed amazed that Kira would suggest he stay behind. "I was in charge of this operation. Honor demands that I capture the escaped prisoners!"

"Starfleet wouldn't be very happy if I sent one of their Ambassadors into a potential fire-fight," Kira pointed out. Worf looked like he was about to argue but Kira raised her hand to cut him off, "Even if he is a Klingon Warrior."

There was a tense few moments. It looked like Worf was not going to back down, but he realized that every second arguing was a second more for the enemy so he reluctantly sat down. It was only when he did, and after Sisko descended into the bowels of DS9, did Kira realize that she had been holding her breath.

On board the Enterprise, Picard sat in the captain's chair and gave the order to pursue the fleeing vessel. It had not yet reached the minimum safe distance from the station to engage their warp engines. Almost all of the teams on board Voyager had transported back to the Enterprise, with the exception of Doctor Crusher and Troi who had requested that they stay on-board Voyager, as they felt they were close to reactivating the EMH.

"Distance to target?" asked Picard.

"Thirty thousand kilometres and closing," replied Data.

"Prepare tractor beam," ordered Riker.

Data's hands flew over the controls, "Aye, Sir."

The Delta Flyer was fast and quite manoeuvrable; however Data could anticipate and compensate for every evasive manoeuvre within nanoseconds. The Enterprise closed in fast. Blazing blue energy engulfed the Delta Flyer as the tractor beam snared the fleeing vehicle, stopping it dead in its tracks. Picard indicated to Lieutenant Mudd to open a channel.

"This is Captain Picard. Lower your shields and prepare to transport over to the Enterprise."

The image of the captured Delta Flyer was replaced by one of Chakotay.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Captain. Evidence may suggest otherwise, but believe me, we are not the bad guys here."

Picard stood up from his chair and moved closer to the view screen. "Mr. Chakotay, attempting to go AWOL is hardly likely to back up your claims. Please, let's not make this any worse then it already is."

"I know things look bad, but if you let us go I think I can prove our case, and maybe find the missing crew."

Picard's tone grew more serious, "You are not going anywhere."

Chakotay glanced to his right, nodded, and then faced Picard again. "We'll see about that Captain."

Chakotay cut the transmission, changing the view screen's perspective back to that of the captured Delta Flyer. Picard frowned and paused from stating his next order when he noticed the colour of the beam around the ship changing from blue to green.

"What's going on?"

Before anyone could answer, the beam flickered and the Delta Flyer disengaged from the tractor beam. No longer restrained, the Delta Flyer resumed its journey at maximum speed. Picard ordered to give chase and again asked for an explanation as to what they had just witnessed. Data swivelled around in his chair to face Picard.

"I believe, the best term to describe what we have just seen is; they adapted.'"

It would make sense, thought Picard. They had a Borg on board and the strange craft must incorporate some Borg technology. He realized Chakotay had been stalling for time, no doubt to allow the Borg to adapt to the tractor beam. Angry with himself for being lead so easily, he considered ordering the Enterprise to fire on the fleeing vessel but then realized it was too late as he witnessed the small ship stretch, then disappear as it engaged its warp engines.

"Track it!" bellowed Riker

"Unable to comply, Sir," replied Data. "The vessel does not appear on any of our sensors. They must be utilising stealth technology."

"Are you able to extrapolate a general heading Mr Data?" asked Picard.

Data checked the helm logs and made several million calculations in one point two seconds.

"I believe so, Captain. If they maintain the same heading they used when their warp engines engaged, they would reach the Badlands in two point seven hours. However, there's no guarantee that they will stay on that course."

Yes they will, thought Picard, as he remembered the image of the Badlands which had appeared into his mind earlier.

"Sir," interjected Mudd, "I'm picking up a transmission from Captain Sisko."

Data checked the short-range scanners, "It's the Defiant. She's closing on our position."

"On screen," ordered Picard.

The view screen displayed Captain Sisko. Picard had already learned of his return from his year long 'sabbatical' with the Wormhole aliens, so was not surprised to see him on board the very ship he had helped design.

"Captain Picard, good to see you again."

"Likewise Captain."

"We were wondering if you would appreciate some assistance?" offered Sisko, with a hint of sarcasm.

Picard noted that Riker shifted uncomfortably in his seat, no-doubt now regretting his earlier confidence in easily capturing the ship.

"Any help would be welcome, Captain. I believe that they are heading towards the Badlands, although we have no way of tracking them to confirm this at present."

"That would make sense," responded Sisko. "Both Torres and Chakotay have excellent knowledge of the Badlands. But then again, so do I!"

Picard remembered reading that Sisko had been heavily involved in hunting down members of the Maquis and had spent considerable time in the Badlands.

"In that case Captain, it would probably save a lot of time if you lead and we followed."

Sisko smiled at Picard, "It would be my pleasure."

Moments later, both ships where heading at maximum warp towards the Badlands. Sensors were set at maximum just in case they caught a glimpse of the fleeing ship. Data was tasked with coming up with alternate methods to locate them, while La'Forge prepared the Enterprise to enter the Badlands.

Up until the invention of the Intrepid Class Starship, a ship the size of the Enterprise would not be able to enter the Badlands without considerable damage. This was due to the amount of plasma energy being discharged in the Badlands; an area which covered over one third of a sector of space. This energy disrupted electrical systems and the external plasma had a tendency to seep into the plasma vents, disrupting the warp core. The bigger the vessel, the more disruption; until it reached a point where entering the Badlands was simply not an option.

The Intrepid class Starship was the first Starfleet vessel that incorporated bioneural circuitry. This proved a natural defence against what had become known as 'the Badlands effect. Since then, every new Starship had this system-wide upgrade included in the basic design. Even so, once they entered the Badlands the Enterprise and the Defiant would have to seal their plasma vents and cut power to the warp engines. Any sudden bursts of energy could still ignite their own plasma.

They could not use the warp engines once in the Badlands anyway as it was impossible to maintain a stable warp field. Other systems would also be affected. The main casualties would be the long-range sensors would be useless and short range scanners would not fare much better. An object that appeared on the scanner as a battle station could prove to be a small moon on closer inspection.

The biggest problem which faced all vessels was the massive turbulent cyclones of compact plasma energy that swirled around the Badlands and destroyed anything which was unlucky enough to fly into one. Not for the first time in his experiences on the Enterprise was Picard glad that they had Data at the helm.

Back on Voyager, Doctor Crusher initiated the EMH start-up sequence once more, convinced that this time it would work. She had deleted the basic holo-matrix and overlaid the pattern from the Enterprise's EMH, then loaded in all the data stored in the portable emitter. The first few attempts had been a failure, but both Crusher and Troi where quite pleased to note that the holo-matrix did not seem to be decompiling into another mess of corruption. The problem this time seemed to be a simple matter of configuration irregularities between the basic model and Voyager's EMH data core.

Both knew it was simply a matter of tweaking out all of the bugs before they were successful. On this latest attempt the EMH slowly started to appear, as if beaming in via a teleporter. Crusher adjusted a few more controls to compensate and the EMH finally became a solid form.

"We've done it!" exclaimed Crusher.

Both Troi and Crusher looked at the EMH, awaiting some sort of response, but he just looked at them in a confused manner.

"Well," probed Troi gently, "Aren't you going to say something?"

"Where am I? What year is this? Who is the President?" blurted out the EMH erratically.

"He seems a bit confused," Troi noted dryly.

"Hold on a minute" said Crusher as she adjusted a few more settings. "I think I know what the problem is."

As Crusher committed her changes, the EMH disappeared then re-appeared again. This time he looked professional and calm.

"Please state the.."

The EMH turned to look at Doctor Crusher, he then looked at Troi. The expression of professional detachment was soon replaced by one of fear.

"Where's Captain Janeway?"

"We were hoping you could tell us" replied Crusher.

"We're back in the Alpha Quadrant, aren't we?"

"How do you know..." began Troi, but the EMH interrupted her.

"You must take me to Chakotay immediately!" he said, grabbing the portable emitter of the desk and attaching it onto his arm. "He's an innocent man!"

"Calm down," said Doctor Crusher, "Your Mr Chakotay has escaped with a number of others and.."

"Into the Badlands?" interrupted the EMH.

Crusher glanced at Troi as if to say, 'How does he know?' "Yes, we believe so, but we have several ships in pursuit so you should see your friends soon."

"You need to get in touch with them," demanded the EMH. "Get in touch with them all and tell them to turn back!"

"They're probably in the Badlands by now; communication would be impossible," Crusher pointed out.

"Hold on a minute," said Troi in a soothing voice. "What's the problem, why should they all turn back?"

"Because, my dear," answered the EMH looking more upset then ever. "They are walking straight into a trap!

The Defiant and the Enterprise had been in the Badlands for more than an hour now and had searched three old Maquis hideouts that Sisko was familiar with. The hideouts were destroyed; a result of the Dominion's systematic, and successful, eradication of the entire Maquis terrorist group. They had hoped to find some trace of the Voyager runaways but so far lady luck was not on their side.

Captain Sisko was presently leading them to a fourth hideout which was much deeper into the Badlands. So far the Enterprise had been forced to take emergency manoeuvres to avoid shifting cones of plasma energy while the Defiant seemed to be having little trouble sweeping around the danger spots.

"Sir," said Data. "I am picking up a faint reading."

Picard sat up, "Source?"

"Straight ahead," replied Data. "And getting closer."

"Picard to Defiant, are you reading anything?"

"Affirmative," replied Sisko, "An object appears to be heading towards us on an intercept course."

"Sir," interjected Mudd. "I'm picking up a faint transmission, on audio only ... it's hard to make it out though, sir."

"Let's hear it," ordered Picard.

Mudd transferred the transmission to the main speakers. The audio was mostly static but Picard could hear a voice jumbled up in all the interference.

"Data, can you filter out that voice?" asked Picard.

"Processing," replied Data, his eyes flickering left to right as he re-played the transmission in his positronic brain while applying several filters.

"I believe the transmission is from Chakotay. There is too much interference to extrapolate a complete transmission. However, Chakotay repeats the phrase, "Turn back, get out," quite clearly several times.

"The approaching object looks like the very ship we are searching for," interrupted Sisko, who still had an open connection with the Enterprise, "and it's coming in fast!"

Data examined his sensor readings, "Confirmed."

What the hell is going on? thought Picard.

Before he could even think of his next order, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice he hoped never to hear again.

"We are the Borg, existence as you know it is over, we will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."

"Sir," said Mudd, with a note of panic in his voice. "That transmission isn't coming over any subspace frequency!"

"No, it isn't," agreed Picard whose continuing headache had suddenly cleared, revealing the whispering voices that he knew so well, yet dreaded so much. "It was sent directly into our minds!"

Which meant that these Borg were something new, thought Picard. Something they had not encountered before. Before panic could set in, Picard opened a channel to all decks.

"Red alert, battle stations!"

And then, Picard's world turned upside down.

On board Voyager creatures straight out of hell suddenly occupied, what were, moments before, empty quarters. On Deep Space Nine, more of the hellish creatures materialised out of nothingness, right into the heart of the station. And elsewhere, Janeway heard again the voice she believed she had only imagined in her dreams.

"Remember."

Suddenly, she felt the removal of the strange memory block Tuvok had discovered. Earlier she thought it had been painful enough not knowing what was going on but now she knew differently.

Janeway remembered everything as if re-living it, moment by terrifying moment; all over again…


	9. Previously on Star Trek Voyager  Part 1

CHAPTER Nine – Previously on Star Trek Voyager, Part One 

Janeway could feel herself trapped in the present while at the same time she witnessed the events of the past week, slowly unfold in her mind. As she watched herself casually stroll into her quarters, blissfully unaware of the fate which awaited her, she tried to call out a warning. It was futile. Janeway was like a spectator without any power to intervene or even the ability to look away.

"Captain's personal log, Stardate 52081.2," Janeway began, but then she paused.

Brushing her hand through her hair, she could not believe how tired she felt. Janeway had decided recording the log in her own quarters would be easier than in the ready-room; less chance of interruptions. Now thoughts of slipping into bed and catching up on some much needed sleep was proving more of a distraction.

"Coffee." She ordered from the computer. "Black, strong."

After drinking half a cup, whilst enjoying the stimulating view of a starfield through her window, Janeway felt ready to continue.

"We seem to have finally escaped this mad sector of space, which I've decided to call the Feudal Zone due to the chaotic instability its inhabitants have created. At warp six, the journey should have taken  
about five days. Instead, due to all the automated defence systems we have encountered plus all the skirmishes we have been involved in, it has taken over a month; a month of hell that has taken its toll on the ship, crew and especially her Captain." 

Janeway sipped away at her coffee, finally feeling the stimulating effects of the caffeine kick in.

"So fun and relaxation is the order of the day!" she continued. "Seven's initiated deep scans around our current heading. We are looking for are any suitable locations where the crew can enjoy some R&R. In the meantime I've ordered light shifts, extra holodeck privileges and unleashed Neelix's enthusiasm for entertaining the crew. God help us all!"

Janeway smiled as she remembered Neelix asking Tuvok to help co-ordinate a ship-wide game of hide and go seek. For just a nanosecond, Tuvok's normally calm expression was replaced by a look of sheer terror. He had quickly recovered of course, politely refusing and using the excuse that he had to tighten up security protocols. But Janeway saw the look and she suspected, from Neelix's smile as he walked away that he had as well.

Janeway decided to treat herself to a quick sonic shower before preparing dinner for Chakotay and herself. After they finished their traditional post-crisis meal, both were due due to attend an opera performed by Seven and the Doctor; so she needed to shake off these cobwebs if she was going to survive the night!

Chakotay arrived on time for his dinner appointment with the Captain. They were enjoying their usual light-hearted banter which generally pre-empted their more serious discussions.

"This soup is quite delicious," commented Chakotay. "You'll have to tell me the recipe or is this yet another secret, passed down from generation to generation?" 

Janeway smiled at Chakotay as she helped herself to a piece of cornbread.

"A girl's got to have her secrets."

They both ate quietly for a while. Janeway was the first to break, what was becoming an uncomfortable silence by pushing her bowl to one side. She stared at Chakotay until he too stopped eating and matched her gaze.

"What is it?" asked Chakotay.

"I'm waiting," answered Janeway mysteriously.

"For what?"

"For you to admonish me for approaching Mordelus instead of flying straight passed it."

Janeway was referring to the first planet they had contacted upon entering the feudal zone. It was a planet they did not necessarily have to approach, as they where not in any desperate need for supplies. It was simply one more case of Janeway wanting to make first contact with another race to see if they could be mutually beneficial to one another in some way. It turned out to be their first taste of the type of paranoia they would endure for the next month and the first of many battles.

Chakotay realised that Janeway was building herself up for another argument; their old argument. Since day one Chakotay had disagreed, mainly in private, about Janeway's approach to the Delta Quadrant. He believed they should concentrate on getting home, keeping contact with other races to a minimum. Janeway always wanted to explore each planet, moon and nebula they passed and contact every race she could find. It was like she was attempting to be an official Starfleet Ambassador opening up relations between the Alpha and Delta Quadrants.

Chakotay decided to head off the argument before it even began.

"You won't hear any complaints from me, not this time."

Janeway was taken off balance for a moment, as she had been expecting another retrospective review of her actions.

"Not even a little complaint?" she asked.

"In my professional opinion as Chief of Avoiding Trouble," Chakotay began with a smile, "it wouldn't have mattered if you had ordered us to avoid all the planets in that sector and proceeded at maximum warp. In fact that might have made matters worse! At least after our encounter with the Mordelians we were better informed and prepared for what lay ahead."

Chakotay took a sip of wine before continuing.

"I think you should be commended for getting us out of that hellhole in one piece."

Janeway was touched.

"We all should be commended, it was a team effort," she pointed out.

Looking at Chakotay she could see the lines around his eyes and how tired he looked. She realised that their latest adventure had taken as much out of her first officer as it had with her. Reaching across the table she grabbed his hand.

"Chakotay, with this fine ship, this fine crew, we can get through anything!"

"I know," agreed Chakotay as he smiled. He squeezed Janeway's hand slightly before releasing his grip and refilling both their glasses.

"Never give in, never surrender!" he suddenly quoted, raising his wine glass.

Janeway looked puzzled. "Is that a quote from one of your ancestors?" she asked.

"No, it was one of Commander Taggart's sayings. Did you ever meet him?" 

"I'm afraid I've never even heard of the man," replied Janeway.

"You remember one of the first things they used to do at the academy was take us for a tour of a Starship?"

Janeway nodded, remembering her feelings of awe at her first chance to get close to a real warp engine.

"Well, ours was on board the USS Protector. Commander Taggart was the officer who showed us around. He kept on referring to 'this fine ship' and 'this fine crew', which was what reminded me of him when you said that just now. I remember I asked him what advice he would give us cadets based on his experiences in the field. He replied, 'Never give in, never surrender!' It seemed corny at the time, and somewhat non-federation. But out here, in our situation, it seems quite apt."

Their discussion was interrupted by a communication from Seven.

"Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here, what is it, Seven?"

"Please come to Stellar Cartography immediately."

Janeway noted Chakotay's look of disapproval at Seven's commanding tone.

"Well," she commented as they rose from the table, "at least she said please!"

A short time later, Janeway and Chakotay arrived at Stellar Cartography.

"I thought I'd ordered everyone to have fun?" asked Janeway as she gazed at the large and extremely detailed 3D representation of various sectors of space on a massive viewscreen.

Seven turned away from her console and raised an implanted eyebrow at the Captain.

"I was finalising the parameters for the search you ordered. While doing so I came across this."

She turned back to the console and pressed a button. On the viewscreen, a grid marked several light years from Voyager's current position was highlighted and the image magnified to show a much more detailed view.

Janeway gasped as she realised she was looking at a schematic view of a Caretaker array. It was the same size and had the same dimensions as the female Caretaker's array, but she noticed that there was a large hole in the centre.

"Long range sensors confirm that the array is damaged," noted Seven. "Although I have detected faint power readings."

Janeway turned to Chakotay with a wry smile. Chakotay recognised the look and attempted to curb his Captain's enthusiasm before she got carried away again.

"Kathryn, we know from experience that if seems too good to be true, it normally is."

Janeway's enthusiasm was not affected in the least by Chakotay's words of warning.

"Never give in, never surrender, eh, Chakotay?" she said as she slapped him on the shoulder.

"The fun is postponed. Arrange for all senior staff to report to my ready room ASAP. We are going on a salvage run!"

At the emergency briefing, Janeway informed her Senior Officers about the discovery of the damaged Caretaker Array which they were now en-route to. Once they arrived Janeway wanted two teams to beam over. Team one, headed by Tuvok, would concentrate on discovering what happened to the array and assess any risks. Team two, headed by her, would be assessing the array's technology to see if any of it could be useful.

There were the usual notes of caution from Chakotay, backed up by Kim and Tuvok. This was not surprising; after all, they had been tricked into traps several times before and the Female Caretaker had shown she was out for revenge, blaming Voyager and her crew for the death of her partner.

Janeway noted their concerns, but concluded that as long as all security precautions were taken, the potential gain justified the risk. A Caretaker Array had been responsible for dragging Voyager into the Delta quadrant; Janeway thought it was only fair a Caretaker array could help send them back home. With her mind made up, the discussion was over.

Several hours later Voyager arrived and performed preliminary scans of the array. No perceived threats were detected so the mission was given the go-ahead and Tuvok made his way to the transporter room along with Ensign Kim and security officers Guy and Frost. All were wearing their Zero-G spacesuits, as the scans of the array had confirmed that the artificial gravity generators were not functioning.

Tuvok's first objective was to seal off the bulkheads and restore gravity before Janeway's team beamed over. In addition to their standard phasers, all were equipped with Type II phaser rifles.

As Tuvok and his team took up their positions on the transporter pad, he contacted Janeway.

"Captain, we are ready."

"Acknowledged," replied Janeway. "We'll have a transporter lock on you at all times. If you even suspect that all is not what it seems, I want you and your team out of there."

"Understood Captain."

Breaking his communication with Janeway he informed the transporter operator to continue and within seconds was beamed from Voyager, deep into the heart of the Caretaker's Array. 

As he materialised on-board the array and activated his magnetic boots, the first thing Tuvok noticed was that there was no visible signs of damage. He had been transported to a chamber in the centre of the array where Voyager's sensor scans had estimated to be the  
main control centre. At first glance the chamber appeared to be unscathed and the various control panels operating on low power mode. This was confirmed as Tuvok and his team ran diagnostics and compared their results with logs taken from Voyager's last two encounters with such arrays.

Even though this array was a far more sophisticated vessel than Voyager, or any starship for that matter, Tuvok's many years aboard numerous ships of varying levels of technology meant that he was soon able to discover the basic operations and restore normal power levels. According to the console readings, he discovered that the breach was superficial and the rest of the array was undamaged. By closing off several bulkheads, he was able to seal the rest of the array from the cold vacuum of space and restore gravity.

Tapping his communicator, he established contact with Chakotay who was in command while Janeway and her team assembled in the transporter room.

"Any indication as to what happened over there?" asked Chakotay, after he had informed Janeway that she could beam over.

"Negative, Commander," replied Tuvok. "Apart from the breach in the outer hull, the array seems to be fully functional."

"Which raises the question, why was the array operating on low power, with no gravity?" Chakotay speculated.

"Indeed Commander. I will endeavour to discover the answer to those questions soon. Tuvok out."

Now that gravity had been restored, Tuvok and his team removed their spacesuits. Tuvok and Kim began to investigate the various consoles more closely, attempting to gain access to logs and internal sensors and look for anything that would explain what had happened to the array. Guy and Frost explored the perimeter to make sure any uninvited guests would not interrupt the investigation.

In another part of the array, Janeway, Seven and Torres materialised into an area that resembled some kind of engine room. Janeway flicked open her tricorder and began scanning straight away, while Torres and Seven seemed far more interested in examining the various devices manually.

"Well, the tricorder's not telling me anything we didn't already know," commented Janeway as she closed her tricorder. "Alien and very advanced."

She made her way over to Torres who was examining a column of glowing crystals that was surrounded by a funnel of energy. This extended from the roof to the floor, totally enveloping the strange column structure.

"Any ideas what it is?" she asked Torres.

"Well, it could be the Array's engine," replied Torres. "On the other hand it just could be the lighting system, or maybe an alien jukebox for all I know."

"I know it's advanced," said Janeway, "but I'm sure Seven's come across something similar when she was part of the Collective."

Seven joined Janeway and Torres and glanced up and down at the column. Both Janeway and Torres looked at Seven expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Well?" asked Janeway.

"Well what?" replied Seven coolly.

"What is it!"

Seven re-examined the column. "It, well,…it could be a,...or maybe..."

Janeway could not believe it, Seven was blushing! "You don't have a clue do you?" she asked.

Seven sighed. "No. I am afraid I do not."

"Oh dear," Janeway commented. "This could take some time then."

Back on what seemed to be the bridge area, Kim had managed to reactivate the internal sensors but all they showed was Janeway and her team in Engineering. The readings confirmed Voyager's scans and each team's tricorder readings; the array was deserted. Tuvok had not been able to even find any logs, which wasn't totally unexpected as they could not assume the Caretaker beings had any need to keep logs.

"What now?" Kim asked Tuvok. 

"We follow logic, Mr Kim and search the array room by room, deck by deck, until we have some answers."

Kim rolled his eyes, "I thought as much."

The security officers looked equally displeased about the prospect but took point without comment as they left the bridge area. Kim followed, with Tuvok keeping to the rear as they explored the deck.

At first, Kim was exited, tense even. Every muscle tingled in anticipation as they searched each room. However, after several decks of the same routine, he had quickly become bored. Frost and Guy would enter a room or corridor first, run a quick sweep for any signs of danger and then they would give the all clear. Only then would they allow Tuvok and Kim to enter. The security officers would stand guard while Tuvok and Kim carried out a more thorough search.

After three decks following this sweep pattern they had found nothing, no signs of life, no clue as to what had happened. It was a ghost ship. Tuvok had kept regular communications with Janeway but she seemed to be equally frustrated. They were having a hard time understanding what it was they were examining.

Kim sighed as Guy and Frost prepared to enter yet another bland looking room. What was more frustrating was that both security officers and Tuvok looked as alert and prepared as when they first started the search, while Kim had to fight the urge to yawn.

Before they entered however, the beams of light from their phaser rifles pointed down to something that Kim could not at first make out.

"Sir!" exclaimed Guy.

Tuvok moved past Kim, and Frost stepped aside to reveal a body lying prone in the doorway, one arm outstretched, as if in its last dying moments it had tried to crawl out of the room.

Tuvok recognised the being at once but ran a thorough scan with his tricorder for confirmation. Meanwhile, Guy searched the room while Frost provided a flanking position further down the corridor. Kim examined the body with Tuvok.

Tuvok tapped his communicator. "Tuvok to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here, report."

"We have located a body. Scans confirm that it is Suspiria, the Female Caretaker."

There was a pause before Janeway answered, as if she was absorbing the enormity of the information.

"Any idea what she died from?"

"The Doctor would need to carry out an autopsy to confirm, but I am picking up traces of the sporocystian toxin we used. It is possible, that she never fully recovered, and the toxin continued to break down her cellular structure."

There was another pause. Tuvok knew that Janeway would now be questioning her decision to poison the Female Caretaker, blaming herself. However, Tuvok could see no other logical course of action Janeway could have taken under the circumstances at the time.

Before Janeway could reply, Kim interjected.

"This still doesn't explain what happened to the array."

"It may do, Mr Kim." Janeway replied. "If the Female Caretaker died, then other life forms may have ransacked the ship looking for technology just like we are doing. Arrange for the body to be

transported to Sickbay, I want to know for sure what happened to her. In the meantime continue with your investigation."

"Aye Captain," replied Tuvok.

After he broke communication with Janeway and before he contacted Voyager, something made Tuvok kneel down to take a closer look at the body. Perhaps it was because he was the one who discovered the toxin in the first place, or perhaps it was because there was something about this array and this situation which was bothering him. Tuvok did not believe in gut instinct but he did know the subconscious mind could sometimes fit together minute observations that the conscious mind was not aware of.

At first glance there was no obvious sign of any foul play but when Tuvok examined the fingernails, he could see they were cracked and broken. Moving up the body he moved the Caretaker's head so he could get a closer look at her neck. Sure enough, there were contusions and traces of bruising. Concentrating on these areas with his tricorder he picked up the DNA traces of another life form, one which he was very familiar with; Cardassian.

Tuvok quickly tapped his communicator.

"Tuvok to Janeway."

"What is it, Commander?"

"I suggest we leave at once."

"Why? What is..." Janeway started to reply, but a signal from Voyager broke through and interrupted.

"Tuvok," said Chakotay urgently. "We've lost the transporter lock on Guy, do you see him?"

"Certainly Commander, he is in this very.."

Tuvok was about to say 'room', but as he looked around, he could see no sign of Guy who had been stood there moments before. Tuvok looked up and down the corridor but apart from Kim and Frost, there was no sign of Guy.

"Officer Guy seems to have...vanished." Tuvok commented.

"That's it, we're leaving. Chakotay, beam us all up, now," ordered Janeway.

Back on Voyager, Chakotay gave the order to beam up the two away teams.

Ensign Dunne, who was manning Ops station while Kim was on the array, keyed in the controls to beam up the life forms she had locked into the transporter controls. However, as she engaged each sequence the computer would report back that there was no longer any signal to beam up. Within seconds she had lost the lock on every member of the away team.

"Sir!" Dunne said urgently. "I can't get a lock of any of them!"

"Tom, any sign of them?" asked Chakotay.

Tom Paris had been keeping a close eye on the array, and on the progress of his wife. He had seen their readings disappear, just like Dunne had but he also saw some sudden, disturbing changes in the array's structure.

"Negative, sir," he replied. "But something strange is happening to the array."

"On screen," ordered Chakotay.

The viewscreen showed the image of the array which was changing shape. Chakotay rose from his chair and moved closer to the screen, not really believing what he was seeing. The huge hole was sealing up with some sort of organic material. More organic patches were de-cloaking all over the array at alarming speed. These were growing and interlacing with the mechanical materials. Soon the array resembled more of an organic/mechanic hybrid cube then an array. Chakotay realised his worst fears about this mission had come true; they had walked into a trap.

He ran back to his chair and opened up a broadcast signal to the whole ship.

"Red alert, all hands to battle stations!"

As the red alert klaxons burst into life but before they could raise shields, a being materialised in the centre of the bridge. Chakotay and the rest of the bridge crew were momentarily stunned.

Several times during the past few years Janeway had asked him what his nightmare scenario would be, his personal Kobyashi Naru. Chakotay could never decide between the Borg Collective adapting really advanced technology, similar to when Voyager had accidentally created a Borg with 28th Century technology, or if they managed to assimilate Species 8472. What was now standing on the Bridge was a combination of Chakotay's nightmare scenarios; an assimilated member of Species 8472, which all evidence suggested had to have originated from an assimilated Caretaker Array.

"That's not possible!" exclaimed Lieutenant Knowles.

Knowles had been covering Tuvok's security station. His comment was referring to the known fact that the Borg were unable to assimilate Species 8472. The outburst seemed to break everyone out of their startled state, including the Borg which moved over to helm control.

Paris swung out of his chair as the Borg approached his station leaping out of reach. The Borg ignored him. Tube-like tendrils extended from the Borg's claws, without pause it plugged directly into the helm controls.

"Stop it!" ordered Chakotay

Paris was already drawing his phaser. He adjusted the settings to maximum, noting that the rest of the bridge crew were doing the same. As one they fired on the Borg which flinched under the sudden barrage of four phaser beams. Within seconds however, the Borg was deflecting each beam with panelled green shielding. It was able counter every phaser shot while it continued assimilation of the bridge controls.

"Alternate your beam frequencies!" shouted Chakotay.

Each crewman adjusted their phasers to shoot at a random frequency and fired at the Borg again. Just like the previous attempt, the barrage of fire momentarily distracted the Borg before it adapted to the new phaser settings.

"It's no use." said Paris. "The part that is Species 8472 is tough enough to hold off our fire long enough for the Borg side to adapt."

"Sir!" reported Dunne. "I'm getting reports from all over the ship, they're everywhere!"

The panels on the helm control began to flicker. Chakotay knew that in a few moments the Borg would have control of the bridge unless they stopped it. Again he adjusted his phaser but this time he set it to a lower power setting, one specifically designed to result in exploding the target rather then vaporising it.

Tacking aim he fired, not at the Borg itself but at the helm console. As the console erupted, the Borg screeched out in pain as the tendrils, along with several of its clawed fingers were severed.

Taking advantage of the monster's momentary weakness, Lieutenant Knowles ran, roaring with rage, to tackle the Borg before it could recover. As Voyager crewmembers went, Knowles was a large man and a legend in the mess hall. He had won every single eating competition that Neelix organised. People now refused to compete against him.

The moment Knowles made his move Chakotay thought that if anyone had a chance to restrain the injured Borg, Knowles was the man to do it. However, the Borg casually swiped up its injured hand, striking Knowles on his jaw and lifting him up into the air. Chakotay stood mesmerised as Knowles, who must have weighed four hundred pounds at least, flew passed and hit the turbo lift door with a sickening crunch. Although he found it hard to imagine anyone surviving such an attack, Chakotay knelt down next to Knowles's prone body to check for a pulse; there was none.

Meanwhile, the Borg seemed to have fully recovered and moved over to Operations, inserting fresh tubes into the console.

"Move out of the way," Chakotay said to Dunne so that he could get a clear shot at the console.

The young Ensign did not need telling twice and she quickly dived to her left as Chakotay fired. The beam hit the console, but instead of exploding, it shimmered with green light. The Borg had adapted yet again, shielding the console as well as itself.

"Sir," reported Paris, "It's bypassing all the security protocols."

Chakotay knew that if he allowed Voyager to be assimilated they would all likely become part of this new, superior collective. It was a prospect he was not going to allow to happen.

"Computer, this is Commander Chakotay, acting Captain of the USS Voyager. Initiate immediate emergency self-destruct; authorisation Gamma, Delta, One, One, Zero."

Without hesitation, Paris followed Chakotay's lead and verified his rank and authorisation code. Dunne also had sufficient clearance. She gave the computer the final part of the verification sequence while the Borg continued to assimilate the Bridge controls, seemingly unconcerned that the ship was about to explode.

All that was required now was Chakotay to confirm the command.

"Computer," he began, "Confirm emergency self-destruct order; authorisation Zero, Zero, Zero."

"Unable to comply," replied the computer.

"Why?" demanded Chakotay.

"Command protocols have been transferred. Commander Chakotay is no longer authorised to confirm self destruct sequence."

The Borg disengaged from the Operations Console and focused its cold, hard eyes on Chakotay.

Voyager, along with her crew, now belonged to the Borg.


	10. Previously on Star Trek Voyager Part 2

Chapter 10 – Previously on Star Trek Voyager – Part II

As Janeway made her way towards the mess hall, she felt like a little girl again; a little girl who is excited beyond belief at the prospect of special treats. It was her Birthday and she had ordered the entire crew to arrange a big party in her honour.

Just before entering the mess hall, she checked her make-up in a mirror, noting that one of her implants was a bit rusty. The imperfection threatened to ruin her high spirits but then she realised that Seven was bound to have made new ones for her as a present. Her good mood restored, Janeway skipped into the mess hall. Sure enough, the whole crew was there and the mess hall was littered with banners, decorations and Hirogen trophies. Janeway was especially happy that the dead members of her crew had made the effort to be there as well but noted that there were no cheers, no music and most notably, nobody seemed happy. Maybe she had kept them waiting too long?

"I'm here now, the party can begin!" she announced happily but quickly became annoyed when nobody responded or even wished her a happy birthday.

"That's an order!" she added sharply.

Instead of obeying, the crew started to turn their backs on her.

"I didn't mean it!" she said hastily, trying to force a smile. "Please!"

But despite her pleading, more and more of her crew silently turned around. She ran over to Chakotay and grabbed his shoulder, trying to turn him to face her, but he was too strong.

"What is it Chakotay, what have I done to upset you all?"

Without turning, Chakotay replied sadly, "You said you would get us all home. You lied."

Janeway gasped and took a step back. Those who still stood facing her, starred accusingly.

"I will get you all home," she pleaded. "I promise, I promise!"

Despite how many times she promised, the rest of the crew slowly turned away from her, even when she burst into tears. Sobbing, she sat down on the floor and cried into her arms for what seemed an eternity until finally, someone spoke.

"Kathryn, why are you crying?"

The voice was familiar, but Janeway couldn't quite place it. Maybe it was one of the dead crew members? She did not want this to be true and was sorry that she had insisted they turn up for her party.

Without raising her head, she replied, "I said I'd get them all home, and I can't. No-one likes me anymore."

"I still like you," replied the familiar voice.

Janeway looked up and could see through blurry eyes the face of a Bajoran, or was it a Cardassian?

"You do?" asked Janeway, as she wiped her eyes. Her vision cleared. She could see the face much clearer now.

"I thought you had left?" she said with a touch of awe, amazed that, out of all the people who had betrayed her at her own party, she was the only one left, the only one to offer comfort to Janeway.

Janeway flew into her open arms, felling like a child seeking comfort from her mother.

"No, I didn't leave," answered Seska as she brushed her hands through Janeway's hair soothingly.

"In fact, I have always been here."

Janeway awoke with a cold sweat. She was lying in Engineering next to the still unconscious forms of Tuvok, Seven, Kim and Torres.

Janeway briefly wondered if the sudden attack by an assimilated Species 8472 had all been part of the strange dream . However, one glance around Engineering confirmed her worst fears; Species 8472 had somehow been assimilated by the Borg. They had attacked her on the Caretaker array and her ship was being assimilated.

Sections of Engineering had been converted into larger versions of the Borg regeneration chambers. All but two were all currently empty while the rest contained the massive Hydra-like forms of the assimilated Species 8472. The rest of the Borg in engineering where busy working on the Warp engines. Janeway counted six in total, including a 'normal' humanoid Borg. The lighting systems were on a minimal setting and the room felt hot and humid; the preferred environmental setting for Borg drones.

She quickly woke up the others, motioning for them to be quiet, even though this generation of Borg seemed to be ignoring them just as much as the original ones had.

"How is this possible?" asked Kim, after monitoring the new Borg in action for a few moments.

That has been Janeway's first thought when she was assaulted on the Caretaker Array. In their original encounter with Species 8472 it had been established that the Borg could not assimilate this species due to their highly advanced organic cell structure which rejected Borg Nanites. She had not had much time to speculate on the possibilities however, as she had quickly been rendered unconscious. Impossible or not, they existed and they had her ship.

One of the Borg Species 8472 turned its head briefly in their direction as it walked by.

"At present I am more concerned with what they are doing with the warp drive," replied Janeway

"They're doing something to the Warp Plasma flow, I think," answered Torres. "Yes, look, the plasma has started to fluctuate!"

The plasma flickered briefly before changing to a dark Red colour. Before anyone could speculate further, the doors to Engineering opened. Chakotay and Paris entered, followed by another assimilated Species 8472 who had to crouch down to get through the doorway. With its escort duty apparently over, the Borg joined its brethren at the Warp drive while Chakotay and Paris approached Janeway.

"Captain!" said Chakotay, hardly disguising the relief in his voice. "I thought you'd been assimilated."

Paris seemed equally happy to see Torres, but decided to express his relief in a more personal manner. Seven and Tuvok raised an eyebrow, Kim looked slightly embarrassed, but Janeway smiled at the kissing couple, glad that something positive was happening for a change.

"I think if they wanted to, I would be," said Janeway, taking Chakotay to one side so that they could discuss matters further. "What happened to you?" she asked.

Chakotay made a quick report on what had transpired on the Bridge. He was angry with himself for allowing the Borg to take over Voyager so easily but Janeway intervened during his apology.

"Chakotay, we didn't stand a chance. On the array, they came out of no-where and the next minute, I'm waking up on the deck. At least you put up a fight."

"A lot of good it did me, at least one dead that we know of and I've lost the ship."

"We have to look past that for now. You managed to injure one of them, proving they are not indestructible plus they've left us alive and unassimilated. Now, let's work out what they are up to and come up with a plan to take back the ship!"

Chakotay could see the anger and determination in Janeway's eyes. Looking back he could not think of anyway he could have done anything differently and Kathryn was right, he should be concentrating on fixing the situation.

"Never give in, never surrender Captain?" he said with a smile.

Janeway smiled back, "Consider it an order!"

A jet of steam blew out from the regeneration chambers, interrupting Janeway and Chakotay's discussion. The previously dormant Borg detached from the chambers and leapt down, landing with such force that Janeway felt a slight tremor run through the deck. Instead of joining the other Borg, they quickly constructed a harness; one which Janeway and Seven had seen before. This cage like harness had been the one used to hold the Queen Borg's black exoskeleton suit in place. Sure enough, once the harness was complete, a black, leather suit materialised in the centre and the Borg hooked it into position.

Overhead, in the dark depths of the ceiling, tendril like cables swirled around as if they had a life of their own, reaching for something that, for now, remained out of view. From out of this darkness came a voice from the past.

"Janeway. Always the optimist, always the one with a plan for any situation. That is something I almost miss."

_This can't be!_ thought Janeway. The voice had the distinct cold, echoing tone of the Borg queen but it was mixed with a very familiar aspect seemingly straight out of her dream. The cables were drawing a shape out of the darkness. At first she could only see a vague outline with two pinpricks of light but soon Janeway glimpsed the writhing, shiny Cyborg spinal cord, and finally the new Borg Queen became visible.

"Seska!" gasped Chakotay.

"You remember me? How touching. " said Seska sarcastically.

The cables lowered her chest into the suit while small, sharp looking hooks attached to her flesh, joining the organic to the cybernetic.

"But you're dead!" commented Paris.

Seska stepped out of the harness and approached Paris, escorted by two Borg. She caressed Tom's face as if feeling flesh for the first time.

"Death is but a disease," her voice was light and soothing, speaking to Tom as if he were a child.

"I am whole again, more whole then I have ever been."

Seska switched her attention from Paris and focused on Janeway and Chakotay. Her mood visibly darkened as she did so, her Borg escort moved in closer reacting protectively in response to this new surge in negative emotion. She glanced at them briefly and they backed off.

"I am cured," she stated flatly, her eyes switching from Janeway to Chakotay and back again. Finally they rested on Janeway.

"Once I was simply me. Now I am more than that. I am now also them,"

The escort Borg rose up on their hind legs and roared. Chakotay and the others backed off but Janeway stood her ground.

"I am now vengeance," continued Seska, "and I will have my vengeance on you, your crew, your precious Starfleet and your almighty Federation!"

Seska stepped closer. She was now barely an inch away from Janeway as she whispered quietly into her ear.

"I am going to destroy everything you hold dear. All you will be able to do….is watch."


	11. Previously on Star Trek Voyager Part 3

Chapter 11 – Previously on Star Trek Voyager – Part III

Prior to the Borg's attack the Doctor had been sat at his desk in sickbay configuring new personality algorithms. This latest experiment in expanding the Doctor's horizons had been inspired by a strange, but fascinating aspect of human behaviour he had observed earlier in the day.

He had been finishing off Paris's annual medical check-up, when he noticed Tom suddenly shiver for no apparent reason. He quickly examined Paris's life signs, but the tricorder had not shown any abnormalities.

"What's the matter Mr Paris? I know it's a thrill to be examined by an amalgamation of the greatest medical minds in the Federation, however you should learn to control your emotions."

"Don't flatter yourself Doc," replied Paris as he buttoned up his shirt. "Someone just walked over my grave that's all."

Too late did Paris realise his tactical error. One look at the Doctors confused, yet curious expression told him that he would be in sickbay for some time, and he was right. The Doctor wanted a full description of the phenomena, threatening to turn the standard medical into a full spectrum examination if Paris did not co-operate.

So Paris had explained, in great detail, how humans sometimes have this strange feeling, a feeling that causes them to shiver suddenly. For a few seconds, the hairs on the back of their neck rise and they get goose bumps all over their body. In the early 20th Century people had referred to it as feeling like a ghost had just passed right through their body. Others said the best way to describe it was feeling like someone in the future had walked over your grave yet you felt it in the present; hence the expression.

Since then, the Doctor had been working on a way to simulate this feeling and incorporate the behaviour into his random emotion algorithms.

"Computer, back up primary EMH program and upload into Portable Emitter."

"Backup complete"

"Upload Beta Two and prototype algorithms into primary EMH program."

"Working…."

The Doctor's body shimmered briefly and his holographic matrix re-initialised.

"Upload complete."

The Doctor didn't feel any different, but this was to be expected. It could be days, months or even years before he experienced the sensation of someone, 'walking over his holographic grave,' as he had deliberately designed it to be as random as it was in humans.

Only a few minutes later, he was updating his notes on the experiment into his Padd, when he shivered all over. It was a fascinating experience and the Doctor was glad that it had manifested itself earlier rather then later.

"Computer, someone just walked over my grave!' he announced proudly.

"Invalid parameters, please specify,' replied the computer.

"Never mind."

Suddenly he shivered again, then again. Something was not right. He tried to bring up the algorithm parameters on his Padd, to see if there was a flaw in his design, but he was now shivering all over. In between one shiver and another, he managed to grab his Portable Emitter. He was about to order the computer to restore his original program, when the Red Alert systems kicked in and one of the Borg Species 8247 materialised in the centre of sickbay. The Doctor managed to dive behind his desk before the Borg turned towards him. He stayed there for several minutes expecting the Borg to grab him at any moment. When this didn't occur, the shivering Doctor chanced a quick peak from behind the desk, but it appeared the Borg hadn't moved since appearing in sickbay. It was as if it was on guard or awaiting instructions.

It was some time later that the door to sickbay finally opened and in walked Janeway, along with most of the bridge crew, more Borg and to the Doctors amazement, Seska. She looked odd, like some sort of a demented Borg Queen. Eager to find out what was going on, but fearful of being discovered, the Doctor crouched tighter behind the desk and listened intently.

"So what is it Seska?" demanded Janeway. "What are you doing with my ship?"

"Yeah, I've played this holo-novel before," added Paris. "This is the part where Chaotica explains his mad scheme."

Seska ignored Janeway's demands and Paris's sarcastic comments. She was too busy looking around the sick bay.

"This is where it all ended. It's only apt that this is where it shall all begin again."

Janeway wanted to ask Seska what the hell she was talking about, but Seska had moved over to a bed and was stroking the headrest seemingly oblivious to anything else.

"This is where the Doctor prepared my body,"

Seska stopped stroking the bed and looked up while still facing away from Janeway and the others.

"Why did you give me a Starfleet funeral? Why did you entomb me into a Photon Torpedo and send me off into the stars, after all I had done?"

Although Seska was not looking in their direction, Janeway knew the question was aimed directly at her.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," replied Janeway, who at once regretted her outburst. It seemed quite obvious to Janeway that this newly reborn Seska was more then a little unstable. It did not seem wise to provoke her.

"Seska, despite what you did," she added solemnly, "everyone deserves to be laid to rest. No-one wanted it to end the way it did."

Seska finally turned around to face Janeway.

"Do I sense guilt?"

Janeway was about to deny the accusation however Seska continued before she could reply.

"No matter! I was dead, and for whatever reason, you gave me a nice funeral and whisked me out into space. There I drifted for a long time until discovered by an old friend of yours, by the name of Suspiria."

_That explained where the Female Caretaker came into all this_, thought Janeway, but Seska seemed to be in the mood to tell her story, so she did not interrupt with the many questions she wanted to ask.

"Suspiria revived me using technology similar to Borg Nanites but much more advanced then such crude techniques. At first I was confused. Then Suspiria took me under her wing and helped me adapt to my second life."

Seska had moved over to a tray containing medical equipment and was examining objects at random, finally she continued.

"Why? I know that is the question on all your minds. Well, Suspiria may be part of a highly advanced race, but revenge is a concept as old as the cosmos. Suspiria wanted revenge on those that had killed her mate and then sealed her fate also. You see, Suspiria was dying."

Seska approached Tuvok for the first time since making her grand appearance in Engineering.

"The toxin you created…was slowly poisoning her to death."

"That was not my intention," replied Tuvok.

"Oh no? You develop a toxin that was supposed to temporarily debilitate her, based on the remains of her mate, a species unlike any other in the galaxy, and yet you seem surprised when it has unexpected results! I expected more logical thinking from you Tuvok.

"I must point out, that if Suspiria had not attacked Voyager, we would never.."

Seska interrupted Tuvok's explanation with a wave of her hand,

"Again, I sense guilt in your excuses. As far as she was concerned, she was dying because of the same ship and crew that had been responsible for the death of her mate. All her advanced knowledge and technology could do was prolong her agony, long enough to ensure her revenge. Oh, and her idea of revenge was now much greater then just simply destroying your ship, or as I first suggested, stranding you all on desolate planet. "

"She revived me because she had come across my floating coffin while trying to find you. Initially she was just going to use me to get to you, but once she realised I had just as much reason for revenge, we became a team."

Seska laughed slightly, "It's a little ironic, that in following you we were able to devise the perfect revenge. But I skip ahead a little, please forgive me.'

"It was quite easy to pick up Voyager's trail," she continued. "We were lucky in that your fearless leader can't help but examine every speck of spacedust and interact with as many species as possible along the way."

Chakotay couldn't help but glance quickly at Janeway. He knew that Janeway's techniques would have consequences, but now was not the time for saying, 'I told you so.'

"Occasionally the trail would go cold, but we'd soon pick it up again. Until that is, we reached Borg space. I was hoping we would catch you before you reached that area, as I knew the chances of you making it alive and unassimilated were limited. But the old Janeway luck meant that you just happened to arrive in Borg space, just as a war with Species 8472 broke out, and you sneaked through while they where occupied."

Seska approached Janeway again, smiling as she did so as if amused.

"I must hand it to you Kathryn, zooming through that sector and kidnapping a Borg drone whilst doing so was gutsy!"

Janeway felt a surge of hope at Seska's last statement, but she controlled herself so as not to let it show on her face. It seemed evident that Seska did not know everything about Voyager's exploits in Borg space, and had arrogantly assumed that they had sped through while the war was going on. She was not sure how this was going to help their situation, but knowing that Seska's knowledge was flawed gave her some hope.

"However, the situation gave Suspiria an idea. It was quite easy to kidnap a few Borg drones of our own and disconnect them from the Collective, even easier to obtain DNA samples of Species 8472. We then perfected the Borg's assimilation techniques and grew hybrid clones of the two species to create the ultimate warrior. To control them I became their Queen. I was closer to Borg than Cardassian by that point anyway, so going one step further was not so painful."

The slight look of pain on Seska's face suggested otherwise. She seemed to become distracted and lose focus.

"So why create this new breed of Borg when the advanced technology of Suspiria's array could easily outmatch us in a fight? asked Chakotay.

The question brought Seska out of her daydream.

"As I said, Suspiria wanted a much greater revenge then to simply destroy your ship. But it took time to develop our perfect warriors, it took time to locate Voyager again and set up the trap. Too much time for Suspiria I'm afraid. She died without fulfilling her plan. So now I will gladly carry it out for her. You see Chakotay, you and your Maquis comrades, plus your little pet Borg drone are going home. But your going to be denied the heroes welcome, your even going to be denied your memories of our little conversation until I let you."

"For what purpose?" Janeway demanded angrily.

"Oh don't worry Janeway, although you will also not be allowed to remember until I choose, I'll make sure you get to watch Chakotay and the others suffer."

Seska looked confused for a brief second before continuing.

"You see, we are going to leave enough clues around to suggest a mutiny has taken place. It shouldn't take long for Starfleet to convict you of this crime considering your terrorist past. That will be the first part of my revenge. The second part? This will be the destruction of all living things in the Alpha quadrant. An unstoppable fleet of Borg and Species 8472 hybrid ships will sweep out of the Badlands, obliterating everything in its path until it reaches Earth. Then once that miserable planet has been turned to ashes, we'll move on, to the next planet and the next until only my beautiful Collective and I remain!"

Species 8427 had already wiped out all the sentient beings in their own fluidic universe. Janeway knew that combining that Species with the Borg would mean the Alpha Quadrant stood little chance of survival.

"As for the third and best part of my revenge, well that's going to be a surprise for later, much later."

Seska concluded her explanation by clapping her hands, as if applauding herself.

"Any questions?"

Janeway and Chakotay both started to speak at the same time but Seska ignored them. "Good, let's begin then shall we. Computer, activate EMH program."

"Unable to comply."

From behind the desk, the Doctor realised he was about to be discovered.

"Specify reason" demanded Seska

"EMH program has already been activated," replied the Computer.

The Doctor began to panic, his near constant shivering didn't help. He realised that if Seska got hold of his Portable Emitter, she would have access to 28th Century technology and be able to create even more powerful drones.

"Computer, locate the EMH program."

"EMH program is currently in sickbay."

The Doctor quickly removed the emitter from his arm and placed it on the floor, as close to the desk as possible.

Seska sighed in exasperation, "Computer, specify EXACT location of the EMH."

"EMH program is approximately three meters away from your current position."

The Doctor did not wait to be discovered. He stood up and walked over to Seska smiling and shivering as he did so as if nothing untoward had happened.

"Hello Seska, good to see you again. You look a little different, have you done something with your hair?"

"What's wrong with you?" asked Seska, bemused by the Doctor's sudden appearance and his odd behaviour.

The Doctor picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning Seska, as if she was an everyday patient who wandered into his Sickbay with some minor ailment.

"Nothing; just having a little bit of trouble with some new algorithms that's all. You on the other hand, seem a lot healthier then when I last saw you, did you cut down on the Raktajino like I suggested?"

"I see that you've not lost any of your bedside manner," said Seska dryly, motioning to one of her Borg as she did so.

The Borg moved over to sickbay's main computer console and plugged itself in. Shortly afterwards the Doctor dropped the tricorder in mid-scan as his hand phased away.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded.

"Don't worry," replied Seska. "I'm just fixing your algorithms….permanently."

Paris could see that Seska was more then fixing the Doctors algorithms. Her pet Borg where wiping his program from the computer. Janeway was pleading with Seska, but it was no good. If Paris didn't act soon the Doctor would be murdered before his very eyes!

After spending several years as the Doctors assistant they had developed a strong friendship, even though he did like to wind the Doctor up now and again. so Paris tensed himself up to take action. He knew he did not stand much of a chance against such a beast, but he reckoned that if he could wrap his legs around the Borg's legs and twist hard enough, he could make it fall over, and as the saying goes, 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Paris was just about to launch himself forward, when he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly he gasped as he saw Harry Kim running full speed at the Borg. Without even looking in his direction, or disengaging from the computer, the Borg casually swiped his other claw up, clenching it into a fist at the last moment, just before connecting with Kim's chin.

Kim collapsed at the Borg's feet. A phaser rifle materialised in Seska's arms.

"We'll have no more heroics, understand?" said Seska as she aimed the rifle in their general direction.

"Captain, do something!" pleaded the Doctor. He was now little more then a head and a brief outline of a shoulder.

But there was nothing Janeway and the others could do. Even if Seska did not have the phaser, Kim had proven that hand-to-hand combat with Species 8247 version of the Borg was useless. All they could do was watch their comrade fade from existence.

With the Doctor gone, Seska casually walked over to Kim, who was returning back to consciousness with a series of groans.

"I knew one of you would try something," commented Seska. "But I must admit I'm surprised it turned out to be you Harry."

"Not half as surprised as I am," said Harry as he rubbed his chin.

"When I left you seemed like just a boy, now you're all grown up."

Seska seemed genuinely sad, as if making a difficult choice. "Ah well, a volunteer is a volunteer."

Kim sat up slowly. As he painfully did so, Seska made some adjustments to the phaser rifle settings, then aimed it at Kim.

"No, don't get up, "she ordered. "Lie back down exactly the way you where…that's it, nice and easy."

"Seska, what are you doing?" asked Janeway who was beginning to fear the worst for Kim.

Seska turned her head sharply in Janeway's direction.

"I told you. Anything I want, and all you are going to do from now on is watch!"

Turning back to Kim, Seska aimed the rifle at Kim and fired.

"NO!" screamed Janeway.

Kim squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the phaser blast hit him. Expecting instant vaporisation, he only opened his eyes when he realised he was in too much pain to be dead yet.

The source of his pain was his right arm. He looked over but gasped in horror when he saw that he no longer had a right arm. It had been vaporised and the heat of the phaser had cauterised the wound at his shoulder.

Although the pain was threatening to make him lose consciousness again, he managed to sit up and stare Seska in the eye.

"Why?" he demanded.

"I need evidence of a mutiny, something that Starfleet will discover when they try to find out what happened to the EMH," Seska replied in a matter-of-fact fashion.

"No, I want to know," said Harry through trembling lips, "why you didn't kill me?"

"Because, " said Seska, drawing closer to Kim. "I want to hurt Janeway again and again. The death of her crew would indeed hurt her deep, but that type of pain does not last anywhere near long enough for my liking.

Seska drew back again and looked over at Janeway.

"What's up Captain, your tear ducts appear to malfunctioning?"

Janeway did indeed have tears in her eyes. Partly from the pain Seska was causing Kim, partly from the loss of the Doctor, but mainly because she was powerless to do anything about it.

"I swear, if you harm any more of my crew I'll…"

Seska interrupted Janeway by aiming the Phaser at Kim again.

"What's that Captain? You think one arm isn't enough to show up on a casual scan? Well, maybe you are right."

This time, Kim did black out from the pain when Seska vaporised his left arm.

As the Borg carried the limp form of Kim out of Sickbay, Janeway was finally realised from reliving those painful memories of the past. As she opened her eyes, the clamps that had been holding her down unlocked, and the faceplate which had been forcing her to watch Chakotay's struggles raised. Stepping down, she noticed Tuvok and Paris stepping down from chambers on either side of hers.

After maiming Kim, Seska had shown Janeway everything. The fleet of ships she had constructed, the changes she was making to her ship to prove to Starfleet that a mutiny had taken place. She then was forced to watch her crew put into Borg-like regeneration chambers one by one where they had been induced into a deep sleep so that the Borg could induce the telepathic block. Then they where left in the chambers for their journey to the Alpha Quadrant.

Finally it had been Janeway's turn, and now she finally back in the Alpha Quadrant, but held somewhere in the Badlands, while Seska carried out her mad plan.

Janeway had never felt the way she did now. During all the years, she had found the courage and determination to go on no matter what. The crew looked to her for inspiration, and if they were ever going to get home, she had to maintain that level of inspiration to keep the crew going.

But now she had let them all down, and everyone was going to pay the price for her mistake. She knew that a big part of Seska's revenge would be to see Janeway lose confidence and feel more and more helpless. She knew that she should be fighting these feelings to deny Seska the satisfaction, but Janeway could not help but feel exactly how Seska wanted her to feel; defeated.

Looking around she noted that they appeared to be in a large, featureless room with no noticeable exits. One side contained rows upon rows of the same chambers that had held Janeway and the crew for their journey. After checking a few, they found that they still contained their cargo, and although they seemed lifeless, a quick check confirmed that each person had a slow but steady heartbeat.

Suddenly, the whole room was lit up as along the other side of the chamber, a large holographic image appeared, interrupting the examination of the sleeping crewmembers. The image was split into three sections. The first showed the Enterprise trapped by a tractor beam, as a Hybrid Borg Cube dragged it mercilessly deeper into the Badlands towards the female Caretaker Array at its centre. Janeway noticed the Delta Flyer and the Defiant weaving and dodging around several of the smaller Species 8472 funnel like ships, desperately trying to get closer to the Enterprise. But despite some valiant efforts, and several brilliant manoeuvres on both ship's part, they could not get close enough to assist. Janeway knew that it was only a matter of time before they were either captured or destroyed.

On the second screen, Janeway could see Quarks Bar on Deep Space Nine. The bar was in chaos as its customers where scrambling to get over each other in their desperate attempt to get away from the Borg. The third image section showed the Borg on board Voyager. Again they where altering the Warp drive, but this time it appeared that they were restoring it back to its original design, for whatever reason.

Tuvok had noted the change in Janeway's emotional state as soon as they had emerged from the chambers. While they had been trapped, but unable to remember the events that had occurred on Voyager, Janeway had been her usual self. She had sounded confident that they would get out if this situation. Now she seemed to have lost all that confidence. He examined her face as she viewed the events on the display. He could see pain and tiredness, but most disturbing of all, he could see resignation. He decided it was time for him to bring his friend out of her shell and remind her of whom she was; a Starfleet Captain.

"Captain, what are your orders?" he asked.

Janeway seemed distracted, "What?"

"What are your orders?" repeated Tuvok

"I don't see what we can do, sit and watch I guess." Janeway proceeded to sit on the floor.

"Hey guys, over here!" shouted Paris. He had continued investigating the chambers, no doubt searching for his wife.

Janeway reluctantly took Tuvok's hand as he helped her up and led the way over to one of the chambers that Paris stood by. Janeway peered into the chamber expecting to see Torres, instead she discovered that it contained Kim.

"Well, at least he's still alive," Janeway commented dryly.

"No, look closer," Paris prompted.

Janeway peered in closer, at first not understanding what Paris was referring to. Then she realised what was wrong. Kim had both sets of arms! Grasping one she felt his hand, it was slightlycold but seemed perfectly natural and appeared undamaged.

"But why rebuild his arms? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Actually Captain, it is all beginning to make sense.'

"Explain?" ordered Janeway, hoping that Tuvok would provide some insight that she could finally use to her advantage.

Tuvok could sense that Janeway was reaching out for some lifeline, something that could bring her back into the fight. He decided now was the time to provide that lifeline, and hope that her natural instincts would take over and bring back her sense of determination.

"Several aspects of Seska's behaviour and more importantly her story do not add up. According to Seska, Suspiria wanted to exact revenge by wiping out an entire quadrant of space, but that type of behaviour does not match the characteristics we have observed of the Caretaker species. We have a saying on Vulcan, 'With great power, comes great responsibility." The Caretakers have great power, but as we've seen, they take responsibilities for their actions."

"They didn't seem to care about dragging us from one side of the galaxy to another!" pointed out Paris.

"True, but the caretaker was looking for a cure for himself, so he could continue to care for the Ocampa. Remember Mr Paris, the Caretaker had sacrificed much to make up for the mistake he made which left the Ocampa's planet barren."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one," quoted Janeway.

"Indeed captain."

Paris was not convinced.

"But Suspiria was quite willing to destroy Voyager when we last met, how's that for great responsibility?"

"The fact that Suspiria was quite willing to destroy Voyager is not in dispute Mr Paris. I am simply saying that I do not believe she would willingly engage in mass genocide."

Paris seemed in the mood to argue further, but Janeway could see that the bickering would be pointless.

"Gentlemen, let's assume for the moment that Seska may not be telling the whole truth. Mr Tuvok, how can this help us in our situation?"

Tuvok was glad to see the old fire returning to Janeway's eyes.

"When I came across Suspiria's body, I did indeed find traces of the sporocystian toxin as I reported, but on closer inspection I discovered she had actually died of asphyxiation. Furthermore, when scanning the bruises around her neck I found traces of Cardassian DNA."

"So Seska strangled Suspiria, presumably so she could gain control of her technology and came up with this mad scheme herself!" Janeway concluded.

"We may never know how much, or how little, involvement Suspiria had. However it is evident that Seska is either lying about how much of the scheme was her idea, or has convinced herself otherwise."

"If you ask me I'd say she was nuts!"

"Although Mr Paris is being his eloquent self as always, I believe he is right. Her mood swings and the behaviour we have observed so far, such as maiming and then curing Mr Kim, brings me to the conclusion that Seska's mind is unstable. "

"Well as fun as this debate has been," said Paris. "I'm going to go look for my wife, but before I go I just have two things to say. Firstly, if I was brought back from the dead and changed into the Borg Queen, I'd be a little bit quirky too. Secondly, if so, I may not take too kindly to people talking about me in such a manner," Paris winked and turned away.

As Paris resumed his search, Janeway moved closer to Tuvok and whispered softly, "Tom's right Tuvok, she could be listening in."

"Maybe Captain, but right now," Tuvok motioned towards the holographic display, "I think she has a lot on her mind. She may be the Queen of her own collective, but she is inexperienced in controlling so many Borg at one time. "

"Ok, so maybe she's inexperienced and maybe she is unstable. But the fact is she easily captured Voyager and is on the verge of destroying the Alpha Quadrant despite all this, I don't see how this can help us!"

"We've observed how Seska reacts when everything is going to plan," answered Tuvok. "As we know all too well, even the best plans encounter difficulties, factors that could not be accounted for. It is logical to assume that something will happen that Seska is not prepared for. When it does it will be interesting to see how she reacts and we should be ready to take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself."

Janeway looked solemnly at the images of chaos on the displays. "I hope you're right Tuvok…I hope you're right."

Little did Janeway know that something was about to happen as Tuvok had predicted; something that Seska had not taken into account. This something in particular was simply a man, a man who would set in motion a chain of events that could either save or condemn the Alpha Quadrant's fate.

That something was Captain Jean Luc Picard.


	12. Turning Point

*Authors note – Will I ever finish this? *giggles insanely*

Chapter 12 – Turning Point

Picard sat staring at the image on the view screen. It currently depicted the Borg/Species 8472 hybrid vessel which was dragging the Enterprise deeper into the Badlands. Their destination remained a mystery but there seemed to be nothing they could do to prevent it.

The Enterprise had maintained minimal damage so far plus no Borg had attempted to beam on board; a mysterious tactic that Riker had referred to as, 'Bloody ignorant.' Picard agreed. The Borg had always thought themselves superior. They virtually ignored other beings unless they were deemed a threat but this new generation of Borg seemed to have an even bigger superiority complex. Picard believed the Borg were so confident the Enterprise would not be able to break away that they did not have to beam on board and disable the ship… not yet anyway.

Picard could only speculate on the Borg's intentions. Although he could sense the faint whisperings of the Collective, he could not quite hear what they were saying, as if something were deliberately filtering him out of the conversation.

So far the Borg's tactics seemed justified. The Enterprise had been unable to force the Borg to disengage their tractor beam. The organic part of the cube withstood phaser attack long enough for the Borg to adapt to it, the same had been so for quantum torpedoes and the various different energy beams the Enterprise could project from its deflector array.

Although not yet captured or destroyed the Defiant and the Delta Flyer were being dragged deeper into the Badlands as well. They could not get close enough to the Enterprise to assist, but it seemed that neither were they being allowed to break off and escape.

A tiny speck on the viewscreen caught Picard's attention. As Data and the others were busy configuring the deflector for a new escape attempt, Picard manually highlighted the speck and set the magnification to maximum. The viewscreen zoomed in on the image and displayed a large Borg structure, a structure that was again a merger of two species ship designs. It was not like anything catalogued in the computer's database but this was not surprising considering they were dealing with a new generation of Borg.

What was obvious was that this structure was their destination. Picard had a feeling time would run out for them all when they reached it. Riker noticed the image on the view screen. He and the rest of the bridge crew quickly came to the same conclusion as Picard, but Picard was still distracted. There was something about this new Borg but he could not quite work out what it was that was bothering him.

"Mr Data," began Picard. He was hoping that by voicing his thoughts, Data would work his usual magic and come up with an answer. "How is it that the Borg managed to transmit their usual 'greeting message' into our minds?"

"I have several theories Sir," replied Data. "They are highly advanced; they could have developed technology to project communications through a range of sub space frequencies which resonates with our brain wave patterns.

No, that did not sound right to Picard.

"Could they have assimilated a species with telepathic abilities?"

"I did consider the possibility sir. However the Borg already have telepathic abilities which allows them to communicate with each other when linked. Starfleet expert theorise this was gained from assimilating several species with telepathic traits and designing technology to enhance their range. "

The image in the viewscreen was getting larger and Picard was dismayed to see several more Borg vessels in orbit around the large structure. They only had a few more minutes to escape.

"Data, did you hear their message?" asked La-Forge.

"I did not. But my Positronic brain would not resonate at any.."

"If anyone hasn't noticed" interrupted Riker. "We're in trouble here. I fail to see how any of this is relevant."

Picard finally came to the conclusion that had been eluding him. The more he thought about it, the more the telepathic angle made sense. If only Troi had been here he was sure he would have come to this conclusion earlier.

"Because Number 1" Picard replied. "If they can project their thoughts telepathically then maybe they can read ours as well. Which means…."

Riker swore, "They knew everything we were about to try before we tried it."

He swore again. Picard ignored his second-in-commands colourful metaphors; he had an escape to plan but could not do so if there were potential eavesdroppers.

"Mr Data, presume that the Borg have developed the ability to project and read thoughts into our minds and come up with a defence."

Most people in Starfleet would have argued the possibility of such an order, but Data was not most people. He simply said, "Aye sir," and ran some scans while running a search for anything connected to telepathy."

Within seconds he had come up with and rejected three hundred possibilities. The scans had not come up with anything useful, so Data transported a Medical Tricorder from Sick Bay to scan the crew. His scans revealed some abnormal readings that matched several entries in his database. Moving over to another console, he input several commands and transmitted information over to the Defiant and Delta Flyer.

Riker thought that the Captain's order was too much to hope for, even though he had performed miracles before. When Data input the commands into the console however, he felt the air in the bridge change slightly. The hairs on his arm and on the back of his neck arose, as if there was a build up of static, then after a few moments, the feeling passed.

"What was that?" he asked.

Data scanned the crew again, but it was Picard who answered.

"The voices of the Collective, they are becoming quieter, more distant."

"I believe you will soon cease to hear them at all Captain, if my theory is correct. My scans revealed abnormal levels of melatonin in your metabolism. In the human body the centre for the production of melatonin is the pineal gland."

"What has the pineal gland have to do with Telepathy?" asked Picard.

"Vulcan's have a very similar, although far more developed version of the pineal gland which is the centre of their telepathic abilities," explained Data, "In the rare cases of humans developing telepathy, they have found that they have overactive pineal glands."

"The Third Eye," commented Lieutenant Mudd.

"The what?" said La Forge.

"My grandfather was into the supernatural," explained Mudd, "and said that the pineal gland was referred to as The Third Eye by ancient mystics."

Data checked his historical data banks. "Yes, it is fascinating to note that humans connected the pineal gland to telepathy, thousands of years ago, without having access to medical technology that could prove…."

"Mr Data, " interrupted Picard, "we don't have a lot of time, so could you please get to the point?"

"Sorry Sir. I believe the Borg are using their abilities to stimulate your pineal glands and, therefore, make you more receptive to telepathy. "

"The voices or the Borg are almost gone, I take it you have come up with a way to block this telepathic stimulation?" asked Picard

"I believe so sir. The pineal gland is also a magneto receptor, capable of monitoring magnetic fields, and helping to align the human body in space. I temporarily created a ship wide electromagnetic field to suppress the activity of the pineal gland and reduce melatonin production. This should, in theory, reverse the effects of the Borg's stimulation."

Picard could no longer hear the collective, he informed the crew and Data confirmed that he had passed on his findings to Sisko and Chakotay.

"Is this a temporary defence?" asked Picard.

"As long as we monitor your melatonin levels and create more electromagnetic fields if necessary, we should be able to block their telepathic probings indefinitely," replied Data. "I must point out however, that I would expect your sleeping patterns will be disrupted for the next few days."

_That is the least of my worries_, thought Picard as he glanced at the viewscreen. The bridge crew sprang into action again, experimenting with more ways to try and break free of the tractor beam. Now that Picard could concentrate on the problem at hand, he suddenly remembered when the Borg had last tried to assimilate his ship.

He had been stood on the holodeck, holding a machine gun that was spewing fire at two Borg drones. The drones fell back as bullets tore into their bodies, unable to adapt a weapon that did not emit an energy signature. Picard remembered thinking at the time that a blunt force solution was the best offence, and maybe that was what he needed now.

"Number One, plot a course for the Defiant's position and be ready to engage at maximum impulse."

"Aye Sir!"

Riker made his way over to helm control without questioning the Captain's orders, or asking for any explanation.

"Mr Mudd, load all aft torpedo bays with Quantum torpedoes, " ordered Picard, as he transferred shuttle autopilot controls to the bridge and began to input a complex series of command parameters.

The shuttle bay was currently unmanned with power levels at a minimum but as Picard executed his commands, the three shuttles stationed there hummed to life as their emergency start-up routines were initiated. Picard input his security clearance code to override the shuttle's safety protocols, and engaged a feed back loop on the plasma flow that would cause a rapid build up of warp power.

The bay doors opened and the three shuttles glided out. As soon as they passed through the environmental fields that stopped the cold vacuum of space from sweeping into the Enterprise, Picard activated their shields and set their impulse engine output to one hundred and seventy percent. Overpowering the impulse engines by such an extent would mean that they would become dangerously unstable within seconds; but seconds was all he needed.

Picard realised that if Data's theory was wrong and the Borg could still read his thoughts, his plan was doomed to fail but he had no other choice. Once clear of the Enterprise, Picard engaged the impulse engines and they shot towards the Borg cube on a collision course, faster then a speeding torpedo.

Energy beams shot out from the cube in an attempt to capture or destroy the shuttles, but they were moving too fast and Picard was pleased to see that his attack had not been foreseen. A few seconds later, all three shuttles collided with the cube. As their shields buckled under the impact and the out hulls collapsed, the warp drives reached critical mass causing the cores to breech.

Organic material burned and the interlacing bionic matter melted as the Borg Cube suffered the devastating impact of three simultaneous warp core explosions. Back on the Enterprise, Riker put out a ship wide alert, warning the crew to brace themselves for impact. Moments later, the energy wave created from the explosion rocked the Enterprise. The hull groaned under the stress, integrity fields tried to compensate from the increased strain and several power conduits exploded but as the energy wave passed, damage control showed that the ship had suffered little damage.

The Borg Cube had not been so lucky. The explosions had ripped through its hull and the damage was having a cumulative effect throughout the cube as systems went down and drone activity was diverted to repairing critical components. More importantly, the attack had done enough damage to force the Borg to disengage their tractor beam.

As the beam holding the Enterprise dissolved, Picard leaned forward briefly examining the damage to the Borg cube on the viewscreen. Then, as Riker swung the Enterprise about and engaged the impulse engines, he quickly examined the sensor readings. Satisfied, he approached the weapons console and called up a schematic of the damaged cube.

"Target these areas," he instructed Lieutenant Mudd, pointing out sections of the cube that had sustained the most damage, "and fire."

"Aye, aye Sir!" said Mudd, with understandable enthusiasm.

As the Enterprise streaked away, four quantum torpedoes shot out from the aft torpedo bays. The Borg had been desperately trying to repair the damage to their outer hull. Organic tissue stretched in an attempt to seal the holes in the Borg's armour, which had been ripped open by the warp explosions. But their efforts were too late to stop the quantum torpedoes from finding their way through these gaps, and explode deep inside the cube. Already badly damaged, the Borg cube could not withstand this new barrage of attack. The destruction caused by the quantum torpedoes initiated a chain reaction of explosions and power surges all over the cube until the main power core exploded, ripping the cube apart.

Captain Sisko and Commander Chakotay had been playing a deadly game of cat & mouse with several of the smaller cone shaped ships, based on the design favoured by Species 8472, but like the Borg Cubes, these ships incorporated a blend of organic, interlaced with bionic materials.

Ever since the Enterprise had been captured, both the Defiant and the Delta flyer had not been able to get close enough to assist the Enterprise, nor had they been able to escape. Sisko had been able to maintain contact with Chakotay as the Borg had not made any apparent efforts to block their communications. Even though this allowed them to co-ordinate their efforts, it had made little difference to their situation; they were still being herded like sheep, deeper into the Badlands.

Chakotay had the impression that the Borg were playing with them, as he noted several occasions when the Borg should have had them but they had either totally missed, or not attacked at all. Sisko was inclined to agree, especially when he tried to ram one of the ships and it had pulled away at the last moment.

Then they had received the transmission from Data and it had finally all made sense: the Borg were reading their minds. After quickly initialising an electromagnetic field of their own, Sisko noticed a slight delay in the Borg's reaction time. Their ships did not respond as quickly as before and Chakotay actually managed to fool one ship into colliding with another, leaving them both intact but dangling lifelessly in space.

Despite this slight advantage, it seemed that their situation had not changed much. They still couldn't assist the Enterprise, nor stop themselves from being herded deeper into the badlands. That was until the Borg Cube dragging the Enterprise exploded.

"Yeah har! Strike one up for the good guys," exclaimed Sisko.

"Commander," said Chakotay over the intercom, "check out the Borg ships, they seem a bit confused."

Sisko checked the viewscreen and the scanners. Chakotay was right. Some of the ships chasing the Defiant had stopped, while some had veered off in the wrong direction. The destruction of the cube seemed to have distracted them.

"I don't know how long this will last Mr Chakotay, but let's take advantage of it shall we!"

"I was getting bored of this party anyway," replied Chakotay. "There's a plasma funnel dead ahead, what's say you take the left and I take the right?"

"Excellent idea," replied Sisko as he rubbed his hands together.

The Defiant suddenly banked sharply, not away from the pursuing ships, but actually towards them, with the Delta flyer performing the same manoeuvre on the ships that had been following them. Both ships flew straight through the Borg, scattering them in all directions, before swerving back around and heading straight for the plasma funnel. This had the desired effect of making the less then co-ordinated Borg ships resume their pursuit. The Defiant headed towards the Plasma funnel from the left, while the Delta Flyer approached it from the right, both ships running at full speed with the Borg not far behind, both groups where now approaching the plasma funnel, but from opposite directions.

Anyone who has traversed through the Badlands needs to understand the nature of the massive plasma funnels that sweep and swerve throughout this sector of space, if you want to survive. The safest course is not to go anywhere near them, but that isn't always an option, especially if you are using the Badlands as a place to hide like the Marquis had, or if you are hunting the Marquis down, like the Federation and the Cardassians had.

Those pilots experienced enough, could safely traverse near a plasma funnel, as they could take into account the funnel's movements and estimate when exactly it would shift its position and, more importantly, where it would shift to. Those without the experience, or those that were just unlucky enough to fly past a funnel at the wrong time, rarely lived to learn from their mistake.

Sisko and Chakotay were both Badland experts. There were not many Marquis Commanders or Federation Captains who had clocked up more man hours navigating this area of space then they had. As the sped towards the plasma funnel, both of them adjusted speed and heading slightly so that they started to slowly curve towards each other's position. Their adjusted course meant that when they became only a few thousand kilometres away from the deadly funnel, the Delta Flyer whisked over the bow of the Defiant, missing it by mere inches, as it veered off to the left of the funnel and the Defiant veered off to the right. This manoeuvre momentarily confused the pursuing Borg, as each group suddenly found themselves either having to change targets, or risk colliding with each other to continue their pursuit. At the same time, the plasma funnel shifted orbit, with the bulk of its core now heading directly towards the Borg ships. The Defiant and the Delta Flyer, who previously had looked like they would be flying dangerously close to the outer rim of the funnel, suddenly found themselves in relatively safe space again.

The Borg recovered enough to try to escape. Most where engulfed in the plasma funnel however, as they tried to alter course too late, but some managed to pull back, and it looked like they would barely escape; that was until a barrage of photon torpedoes and phaser fire from the Enterprise knocked them off course, plunging them into the funnel to join their brethren in death.

"Good of you to join in!" commented Sisko after establishing a three-way link with the Enterprise and the Delta Flyer.

"My pleasure," replied Picard, "But I think more of our guests are on the way."

O'Brien had been working on boosting the scanners ever since they had arrived in the Badland. Checking them now, they showed numerous ships, closing in from all sides.

"They're bloody everywhere!" he exclaimed.

"Captain Picard, Captain Sisko" interjected Chakotay, "I believe I can get us out of the Badlands so we can warn everybody about this. It won't be an easy trip, even if we didn't have the Borg on our tail, but we have a better chance then staying around here."

"Agreed," said Picard and Sisko simultaneously.

"The follow me," said Chakotay playfully, "if you can!"

The Delta Flyer engaged its impulse drive boosters and set off at a furious pace, with the Defiant and the Enterprise both having to exceed safety limits on their engines just to keep up. Moments later, scores of Borg Cubes and cone shaped ships converged on the area where the battle had taken place. After briefly scanning the area, they sped off in pursuit of the fleeing Federation ships.


End file.
